


Light in the Darkness

by ErzaDLaw



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Drama & Romance, Eventual Sex, F/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2019-09-20 09:25:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 54,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17020068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErzaDLaw/pseuds/ErzaDLaw
Summary: After Fairy Tail gets disbanded, Lucy is kidnapped and Loke seeks help from their friends in Sabertooth in hopes of rescuing her.





	1. Chapter 1

**This is a Sting x Lucy story (Sticy) that takes place after the Tartaros Arc. This crack pairing was my most requested one from fans, because there are not enough good Sticys out there.**

**It's rated M for obvious reasons (swearing, drinking, sex, etc.) and it starts out pretty dark with some torture. You have been warned because I will only put trigger warnings in this chapter.**

* * *

I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

* * *

The mages of Sabertooth were enjoying a fun evening at the guild after Sting had declared the day a Sabertooth Guild Holiday. The members had enjoyed a day of festivities, games, and food as the guild continued to rejoice at Minerva's homecoming.

It had been nearly three weeks since the Tartaros incident and Sting had found out last week at the Guild Masters' meeting that Fairy Tail had disbanded and the members had all scattered. No one knew where Natsu or Happy went, but Sting was sure that wherever Natsu was he was probably getting into trouble with Happy and Lucy by his side.

Sting looked up at his guild mates celebrating and smiled when he saw Yukino and Minerva laughing and enjoying each other's company. He saw that Orga was singing a new song and Frosch was trying to tell Rogue and Rufus a story. He really loved this guild and his heart broke at the thought of if Sabertooth were to disband, it would mean he would lose all the people he cared about. He vowed to himself right there that he would never let that happen. Even if he was older than Master Makarov and even if he could no longer get his dick up, he would keep Sabertooth together for as long as he lived.

The young guild master's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Lector say, "Sting-kun, we have the bestest friends in the whole world."

Sting looked down and smiled at his Exceed friend who stood next to his throne with his arms crossed in satisfaction. Sting just chuckled and replied, "We sure do, Lector."

Suddenly the guild doors flew open and in walked a man in a suit with pointy ears in his hair and sunglasses. Sting stood up when he could smell fear and anger coming off of the...man? No...he didn't smell like a man. His scent reminded him off...

"Loke-san?" Yukino asked in a worried voice and Sting watched his guild mate run to greet the...person...

"Yukino," Loke signed out in relief but Sting watched as the guy broke down and started crying.

Sting watched Yukino grab the man and it made himself, Rogue, and Orga tense because they could smell her fear off of Yukino as she asked, "Loke-san, where is Lucy-san?"

"She's been kidnapped. We were on our way to Crocus because Lucy needed to find work. Then suddenly I was forced back into my gate and everything went dark. None of us could see her but we could hear her scream and then she was gone," Loke cried as his body shook in anger.

Sting watched as Yukino started crying and then she asked Loke, "Are you all ok? What can we do to help?"

Realizing that this guy was one of Lucy's spirits, Sting spoke up and asked, "Where was Natsu-san when this happened?"

Sting felt chills run down his spine when anger flashed in the Spirit's eyes and Loke spat out, "Don't ever bring up that fucking asshole's name to me ever again."

Sting and Rogue looked at each other because something was clearly up, but then Loke looked at Yukino and asked in a much nicer tone, "Yukino, will you please make a temporary contract with us, so that no one else claims us while we search for Lucy?"

Yukino nodded and said, "Of course Loke. We won't rest until we find her."

Everyone watched as Loke spoke on behalf of Lucy's spirits and made the temporary contract with Yukino. The two were about to head out of the guild already when Sting stopped them and said, "Yukino! You aren't going alone!"

He watched as Yukino spun around as said firmly, "I'm not leaving Lucy-San out there alone and scared!"

"I'm not saying that either. All I'm saying is that I'm coming with you, because if the person that kidnapped her can cancel out Celestial Magic then you will need back up," Sting stated as he walked up to meet his teammate at the door. He wasn't entirely sure still as to why Lucy hadn't been with Natsu, but Sting knew that Lucy was one of Yukino's dear friends and his guild mate would risk her own life if it meant that she could save Lucy.

"I'll help too," Minerva spoke up timidly as she looked at Loke, "I owe it to Lucy and want to make it right."

"Two Dragon Slayer noses are better than one," Rogue said with a slight smile as he joined them.

"A God Slayer's nose trumps both of your weak ass Dragon Slayer noses," Orga said with a grin, "I'm in too."

Yukino and Loke nodded at Sting as the young master delegated plans to Rufus and Dobengal to look out for the guild. Everyone in Sabertooth made finding Lucy their top priority as everyone grabbed jobs that scattered out all over Fiore to see if they could hear any news about the blonde Celestial Mage. Sting and his comrades headed out after they grabbed some supplies and then started to follow Loke as the Leader of the Zodiac began to lead them to where he had been separated from Lucy.

Once they were out of the guild, Sting heard Yukino ask Loke, "Loke-san, where is Aquarius-san's key?"

Everyone remained silent as Loke recounted the tale of what happened to Aquarius during Tartaros. Sting wanted to punch something when he heard how Lucy had saved everyone by sacrificing Aquarius, then after how they had won—Natsu just left Lucy behind with some lousy note and not bothering to find out how Lucy had saved them all. Sting now understood why bringing up Natsu to the spirit was a bad idea. He started to regret his choice in role models as he imagined Lucy finding the letter after the terrible events that had taken place. He couldn't understand what Natsu must have been thinking. If he was just training, why not take Lucy with him? Sting must have seen things completely wrong, because he could have sworn that Natsu was in love with Lucy—you don't just abandon somebody you are in love with. Sting could hear Yukino crying and even Minerva. All he could smell off of Loke was fear and rage.

* * *

After a few hours, they finally reached the place where Loke said that he and Lucy had been separated. Everyone looked for clues, but then Minerva said, "I feel a strange pressure surrounding this area. It's probably left over from the magic that forced Loke's gate closed."

Sting, Rogue, and Orga all looked at each other as Sting asked, "Do you guys smell that?"

When the other two men nodded, Yukino asked, "Smell what?"

"It's like charcoal and darkness," Rogue said grimly as Frosch latched onto the Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"It reminds me of my and that chick from Lamia Scale's magic," Orga added as he studied some black scorch marks on some of the trees nearby.

"But it also reminds me of Natsu-san's magic a little," Sting added as he smelled the faint trace of Lucy mixed with the strange magic.

"What does that mean?" Minerva asked, "A Fire Godslayer?"

"No," Loke gasped, "It can't be...he's dead..."

"Who are you talking about Loke-san?" Yukino asked as she put her hand on Loke's back.

Then before Loke could answer Yukino's question, Sting watched as Loke's eyes widened in shock as he whispered, "She awake...she's alive...I can feel her…" But then Sting smelled pure fear rushing off of Loke as his eyes widened in horror and he cried out, "He's torturing her!"

* * *

Lucy slowly blinked her eyes open and the side of her head throbbed and felt wet and sticky. Her shoulders and wrists ached as she tried to move, but then panic hit her when she realized that she was chained up and hanging down from a ceiling—her feet barely dangling above the ground below her.

She felt her breath still when she heard a demented voice call out to her, "Wakey, wakey."

"W-who's there?" Lucy called out into the darkness.

Then fear engulfed her when she saw a unique flame light the room. It was peculiar because it gave off light and warmth, but then dread filled her body when she realized that the flame was black. It couldn't be...he's supposed to be dead!

Red eyes pierced through the darkness as a loud cackle filled the room. Lucy tried to get out of the chains, but the man before her laughed even harder and said, "I don't think we've had the chance to be properly introduced, my name is Zancrow."

"You're supposed to be dead," Lucy whispered in fear.

"Surprise!" the Flame God Slayer yelled in mock happiness, before he looked Lucy in the eyes and said darkly, "You're going to lure your little Dragon Slayer friend here for me. Everyone knows that Natsu Dragneel always comes to save the weak and pathetic Lucy."

Before Lucy could tell Zancrow how wrong he was, the demented God Slayer lit his hand on fire and added, "But let's have some fun first."

All Lucy felt was searing pain when Zancrow grabbed her arm and the smell of her burning flesh filled her nostrils as her screams and his laughter echoed in the dark room.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy tried to open her swollen eyes, but knew that it wouldn't help because she couldn't see anything anyways. Her throat was dry and she struggled to breathe because she was fairly certain a few of her ribs were broken. Zancrow had kept her chained up for so long that she had little to know feeling in her arms. She could feel raw parts of her scorched flesh starting to scab over and the smell was so revolting that if she had any food in her stomach then she would probably throw up.

No matter how much he tortured her, no matter how much she told him that Natsu wouldn't come...She was still stupid enough to believe that maybe...just maybe...someone would rescue her. She hated herself for feeling hope. Especially since nobody besides Loke even knew that she was missing, but she knew Loke wouldn't give up.

Lucy flinched in her chains when she heard the sadistic voice of Zancrow call out through the darkness, "Has my Little Fairy given up yet?"

"I'm not a Fairy Tail Mage anymore," Lucy faintly whispered back.

She felt him grab the back of her hair and jerked her head back before he stuck something in her mouth...water. Lucy eagerly drank from the container but flinched when she felt Zancrow's hot hands run down her naked body.

The demented God Slayer had been all but too eager to remove her clothes on the first day. His delighted joy when he discovered that she was still a virgin had excited him beyond hysterical belief. However, Lucy was just tortured further when Zancrow remembered he couldn't do anything about it. The only thing she could figure out was that somehow he had become a eunuch, because she would hear him mutter about missing the screams of woman he used to rape and the price he had to pay.

She supposed that in the midst of everything it was small comfort that Zancrow couldn't take that away from her too. She didn't really know what she was anymore, because Zancrow still violated her. He loved putting his fingers inside of her and making her cum then beat her afterwards to remind her that he was in control. She once attempted to try and find out how he was still alive when his fingers were inside of her, because she could see that he was enjoying himself, but then he stopped and did nothing but burn her for the rest of the day.

Before Lucy knew it, her small relief of water was gone. Zancrow laughed as he heated up his hands and grabbed her hips, searing her body once more. Somehow after all this time she could still struggle against the chains, even in her weakened state.

"What should we do today?" Zancrow cackled wickedly, "I'm starting to get bored with you. So I decided to make nice burn marks everywhere this morning to lead Natsu here. Three weeks of torturing you and no sign of that pathetic piece of shit."

"Nobody is coming," Lucy muttered weakly as his words hit her like a ton of bricks…three whole weeks…

"You're a defiant little bitch aren't you?" Zancrow snapped at her before he bit down on her beast.

She screamed in pain as he drew blood, then like a wild animal he started lapping the blood up. His insane red eyes pierced through her when he smiled wickedly and asked, "If Fairy Tail doesn't exist, then why is your guild mark still on your hand?"

If Lucy could have looked up to her hand then she would have, but her head was too heavy from all of the pain. She was too weak from dehydration, hunger, and the torture. It didn't matter if her mark was still there, Fairy Tail was gone and no one was going to save her.

Lucy felt tears run down her eyes at the realization. Zancrow had finally made her see the truth and now she was broken. No one would find her and no one would ever know how she died. It would be as though she never existed.

Finally, she looked at Zancrow and mustered all of her despair, anger, and hate onto him and spat out, "Are you fucking stupid? I've told you, Fairy Tail doesn't exist. I don't know where Natsu is and frankly I don't give a shit. You're a God Slayer for fuck's sake so you think you would have learned to use your fucking senses and could tell when someone was lying. Also, I don't know why my guild mark is still there because I can't even look at the goddamn thing, so you can go back to the underworld or wherever the hell it is that you came from, because I don't really give a shit anymore."

Her breathing was pained as she stared Zancrow down in defiance. He studied her carefully before he said in the most normal tone she had ever heard him speak in, "Then you won't mind if I remove it for you."

"Go ahead," she said through gritted teeth. She was afraid, but she didn't take her eyes off of him as he lit his hand on fire and clutched ahold of her right hand and began to burn her old guild mark away. She screamed as tears fell down her eyes from the pain, but she kept looking at her abuser.

Finally when he had had enough he removed his hand and then dumped cold water onto it. The cold sensation felt like relief but she didn't understand why he did it. Then before she could say anything else, Zancrow turned around and left.

She screamed and cried in the dark at her pain. She just wished she were dead already. Her crying lessened at the thought of death. The thought of release.

She felt guilty as she thought about her Celestial friends. She wailed at the thought of losing them, but the longer she stayed here the more Zancrow chipped away at her very being. She didn't want to give up, but at the same time she did.

She smiled as she thought about all of the good memories she had with her spirits; like saving Loke, meeting Taurus, Cancer doing her hair, Gemini coming to her aid when they didn't even have a contract yet, Horologium popping up to save her all the time, walking with Plue, sweet silly Virgo, and her special memories with everyone else. She loved them all so much and she cried harder when she thought about what Aquarius would say to her right now if her old friend knew how she wanted to give up on everything, but none of it mattered anymore. She was certain Yukino would find her keys and that thought comforted Lucy, knowing her friends would be taken care of—even after she was gone.

She took as deep a breath as she could, because of the searing pain she felt inside of her lungs, and decided that tomorrow would be her last day. She didn't know what she'd have to do, but she knew that she would make Zancrow angry enough to kill her...just to end the pain.

Lucy cried quietly at the thought because she didn't want to die, but she saw no other way. All she knew is that she couldn't keep doing this. If she stayed here much longer, she knew that she would become a Lucy that she didn't even recognize. She wanted to die while she was still herself.

She continued to cry in the dark, until she lost consciousness, and couldn't hear the loud thunder in the distance coming closer.

* * *

"It's been three weeks!" Yukino yelled at Sting, "Three weeks and we aren't any closer to finding Lucy!"

Sting felt hopeless as he watched Yukino break down in front of him while the rain poured down on them in the forest. He had sent Orga to scan the area in his lightning form because of the storm. He knew time was running out, because the longer somebody was missing the chances of them being alive were slim. He felt sick at the thought of finding Lucy's dead body. She was too good a person to suddenly be gone from the world. The world needed more people like her and Yukino.

Sting still had hope though because he knew that Lucy's spirits would know if she were dead. Plus, they knew they were onto the right guy when Capricorn came out and confirmed the scorch marks as Zancrow's. But just like Loke had told them, Zancrow was supposed to be dead.

Sting felt bad when Yukino had to practically force Loke back to the Celestial Realm. The spirit had been an absolute wreck when he could faintly hear Lucy's suffering. This Zancrow bastard, sure was a sick fuck that Sting really wanted to beat the shit out of.

The day turned into night as the storm raged on. The Sabertooth Mages were inside of their tent as Minerva held a crying Yukino. Suddenly a large crash of lightning landed in their camp and Orga ran into the tent.

"Orga, please tell me you found something," Sting sighed out as he jumped up from his chair.

"I did," Orga said, "We are a few miles away from this old castle thing. The same scorch marks are all around it, like the ones where Lucy was taken. But they are fresh, like that bastard put them there on purpose."

"We have to go now then!" Yukino yelled as she jumped out of Minerva's arms.

"Why would he mark where he is though? Is it a trap?" Rogue asked.

Sting thought about everything Loke and Capricorn had told them about Zancrow. Then Sting said grimly, "I don't think so. This guy doesn't really seem like the type to plan...he just acts. If Natsu defeated him then he could be here for revenge, thus challenging Natsu by taking Lucy. Only the asshole doesn't know that Lucy and Natsu aren't partners anymore."

"So what should we do?" Minerva asked.

"Simple, we storm it and kick his ass. Minerva and Yukino, you guys will get Lucy the hell out of there while we send this guy back to hell and make sure he stays there," Sting replied sternly. He really wanted this guy to feel pain. Lucy wasn't a member of his guild, but she was a friend and a dear friend of Yukino's. So to him that meant he would save her and get some revenge for her too.

"When should we leave?" Rogue asked because the sounds from the storm kept getting worse as the wind howled outside and shaking their tent almost completely off of its pegs.

Then before Sting and Orga could work out a plan, Loke forced his gate open and he was frantic when he said, "We have to get her now! She's given up...she wants to die!"

Sting looked at Orga seriously and said, "Lead the way."


	3. Chapter 3

Sting had to make a tough decision after Loke broke down on them. Orga quickly pulled out their map and marked the location of the abandoned castle on it. They would leave right now and ambush the place. Otherwise, Sting feared Lucy wouldn't live to see another day.

Orga was taking Sting with him now with his lightning and Rogue would follow in his Shadow form. Minerva would teleport everyone else as quickly as she could, because the wind was too heavy for Frosch and Lector to fly anyone safely through the storm.

Before they left though, Sting looked at Loke and said, "We will save her, but don't do anything stupid. Follow Minerva's lead because this guy sounds batshit crazy."

Loke just nodded his head because he knew he wasn't thinking clearly because of his emotions. The Zodiac Leader would trust his new Sabertooth friends. Then Yukino summoned out Pyxis to help them navigate through the storm. Then the three slayers vanished.

* * *

The three Sabertooth Mages appeared outside of the castle and hid in the woods. Sting was just about to tell Rogue to sneak by and get Lucy while he and Orga fought off Zancrow, but then the Flame God Slayer walked out of the castle and into the storm.

Sting studied the wild looking man as his red eyes glowed like a demon's. He couldn't smell him because of the storm, but his eyes widened when he saw the man to start to scream in the rain and started throwing his black fire at the trees around them as he howled, "Why hasn't Natsu come?! That little bitch was telling the truth! He's not coming for her!"

Sting narrowed his eyes as he watched Zancrow fall to his knees and scream up at the storm and radiated black fire off of his body. He started muttering to himself, "I had to pay a price to get here now he's not here to save that little defiant bitch. What I wouldn't give to fuck her then strangle her with my bare hands. Her blood tasted so good. I want more of it."

Sting felt his body start to shake in anger then he heard Zancrow say, "I need her. I need her to be under me and submit to me. I'll need to make another deal to get it back, so that I can have my way fully with her."

Then when Zancrow stood up to go back in the castle to get Lucy, Sting couldn't hold back his anger anymore as he charged at Zancrow and yelled, "HOLY RAY!"

It didn't take long for Orga and Rogue to follow Sting's lead as Orga materialized into lightning then slammed Zancrow's head into the ground. Rogue tried to slip past the fight in his shadow form just as Minerva, Yukino, Loke, Pyxis, Lector, and Frosch showed up. But when they appeared, they all collapsed to the ground and Pyxis and Loke were forced back into the Celestial World.

"Minerva! What's wrong?!" Sting yelled at them before Zancrow broke free from Orga's grasp.

"Pressure," Minerva was able to whisper out before she blacked out.

Zancrow laughed wickedly and said, "New pretty girls to play with. Some of my new powers that I paid a high price for is cancelling out Non-Slayer Magic, because my end goal was to kill a Slayer and I didn't need any stupid Fairy Tail fucks getting in my way! But you're not from Fairy Tail..."

"Rogue get them out of here," Sting commanded as he watched Zancrow lick his lips as he looked at Minerva and Yukino who were defenseless. This guy had to be insanely strong to drop Minerva to the ground so quickly. He had underestimated the power that Zancrow had.

Rogue acted quickly just as Zancrow dove towards Yukino, but Sting blocked him and yelled, "White Dragon's Holy Breath! _"_

It gave Rogue more than enough time to get their friends a safe distance away from the fight and then get them out of there. Zancrow stood up slowly and was laughing like mad man when he said, "What's the deal with so many Slayers at once? Who the fuck are you guys? Are you all trying to get into that Fairy Bitch's pants? I may not have a dick right now, but that doesn't mean I didn't have my fun with the sweet little virgin. Her body was too perfect looking though, so I had to burn it a bit."

Sting felt pure rage and hate as Zancrow howled in laughter with the storm still raging around them. The lightning crashed down around them and Orga said in a serious and angry tone, "Sting, go get her. I'll deal with this piece of shit."

"Orga?" Sting asked as the Lightning Mage and Zancrow stared each other down.

Orga said with confidence, "I have an advantage with the storm, besides I've always wanted to battle another God Slayer."

Zancrow spat out onto the ground and said, "I don't know who you assholes are, but I'm going to kill you in front of that pathetic bi-"

But Orga attacked Zancrow before the Flame God Slayer could finish his sentence as Sting shot past them and into the castle. When he got inside, he nearly vomited from the smell and had to cover his mouth. It smelled like rotting flesh and piss. He looked around and found dozens of burned bodies lying in heaps on the floor.

"Fucking psychopath," Sting muttered before he finally picked up Lucy's scent through the stench and ran to get her.

* * *

Lucy felt her breathing getting more labored and she thought she could hear a storm, but couldn't tell for certain as she fell in and out of consciousness. Her body felt like it was shutting down but it didn't matter anymore.

Then she felt something stir within her. She tried to open her eyes and all she could see was a beautiful white light coming closer to her. She felt her heart fill with a little joy, because the light must be an angel about to take her to heaven. The light was so beautiful as it shone through the darkness and into her very soul.

But then she stiffened when the light was next to her and she felt warmth. Warmth meant she was about to get burned. She tried to jerk away as she cried, "Stay away from me! Kill me please!"

Then she heard the light say, in a gentle tone, as her chains fell, "Lucy, I'm not going to kill you. I'm here to save you."

The voice sounded familiar. She felt something wrap around her as the light stayed close. Then just before she lost consciousness again she whispered, "I'm safe."

* * *

Sting ran into the room and he froze when he saw Lucy. She was naked, covered in blood, bruises, scabs, burn marks, and puss. He swallowed hard and tried not to cry as he went to get her out of the chains. He hoped that Orga killed Zancrow for this and if not, Sting sure as hell would.

When he got closer, he looked at her right hand where her guild mark used to be and saw that it had been burned away, but it looked different than the other marks on her body. Seeing Lucy like this now made what Minerva did to her look like kitten scratches. He understood why Loke had been a complete wreck.

Just as he was about to undo the chains, he saw her body stiffen as she tried to open her eyes. He tried to reach out to calm her so that she wouldn't panic and she cried, "Stay away from me! Kill me please!"

His heart felt such pain for her, because she probably thought Zancrow was back. He released her chains and said gently, "Lucy, I'm not going to kill you. I'm here to save you."

He took his coat off and then carefully wrapped her up in it. He tried to be as gentle as he could because he could see that some of her ribs were broken and he didn't want to break open the sores on her and cause her more pain.

When he picked her up in his arms to carry her, he felt her body relax and she whispered out, "I'm safe."

He could tell that she lost consciousness again. He had to get a healer and fast, but he still whispered back to her, "I've got you, Lucy. You'll be safe with me."

* * *

Sting's eyes widened in shock when he went outside and saw that the trees surrounding the castle had nearly been obliterated. He started to run in the direction of where their campsite had been when he heard Zancrow scream, "NO! You won't take her away from me!"

Then Sting heard Zancrow yell, "Flame God's Explosive Flame!"

But then Rogue had returned and blocked the attack as Orga yelled, "Lightning God's Charged

Particle Canon!"

Sting's eyes widened because he could feel the power of Orga's attack as the lightning from the storm warped into Orga's own lightning and increasing it a thousand fold. Surely that attack would kill that son of a bitch, but Sting didn't dare stay to watch because he had to get Lucy out of there and out of the rain.

* * *

Sting made it to a clearing with Lucy close to his chest when he heard Lector yell, "Sting-Kun! Over here!"

The guild master looked over and saw his friends under a large canopy so he ran over to greet them.

"Lucy!" Yukino cried as she ran towards them.

Sting watched as Yukino covered her mouth in horror at the sight of Lucy. Then Loke forced his gate open and yelled, "Lucy!"

"We need to get her to a doctor. She's still alive, but it's bad," Sting said as he carried Lucy under the canopy.

"Hold on," Loke said as he flashed back into the Celestial world.

Yukino looked down at one of the keys that started to glow and then held it up in realization. She held the key out and said, "Gate of The Twins, I open thee."

"Piri, piri," the Twin Spirits said before Sting watched them transform into Wendy Marvel.

The spirit looked at Yukino and asked, "May we use your magic to heal her? If we use hers she will die."

"Of course," Yukino said and then Sting gently laid Lucy down where Gemini-Wendy pointed.

As Gemini began to heal Lucy's wounds, Minerva whispered to Sting, "Once we got away, the pressure disappeared and we woke back up. Where are Orga and Rogue?"

Sting was clenching his jaw together tightly before he growled out, "Hopefully killing that son of a bitch."

He could tell Minerva's eyes were still on him though as he stared out at the rain. He was filled with rage for a number of reasons, but he hated hearing Lucy struggling to breath because of what that monster did. He flinched when he heard Gemini-Wendy heal one of the broken ribs as it popped back into place and heard Lucy let out a startled cry.

"You saved her Sting. She's safe now," Minerva said in a gentle tone as she watched the Celestial Spirit preform the healing magic.

"We should have found her sooner," Sting snapped back at his guild mate.

"We did the best we could," Minerva replied.

"Well it wasn't good enough!" Sting bit back.

Minerva didn't say anything else to him and he knew he'd have to apologize later, but right now he could barely think straight. He knew he'd never forget what Lucy looked like when he found her and he was thankful that it was him that saw her instead of Minerva or Yukino. Yukino wouldn't have been able to handle it. All of those dead bodies in there. The castle had been a fucking grave yard.

Finally Orga and Rogue showed up in the clearing and made their way over to the shelter. "What happened?!" Sting demanded to know when he saw the grim expressions on his friends' faces.

Rogue was the one that replied, "He got away."

"What do you mean he got away?! Orga's attack should have killed him," Sting yelled in shock and fear for Lucy.

Orga looked at him and said, "After the attack he was dead. Then he popped up like some fucking zombie."

Sting stood in shock when Rogue added, "Lucy's not safe. He was muttering about getting _it_  back and finding her. Then he disappeared completely. There wasn't even a scent left of him. It was like he was never there."

"I think you know what  _it_  means, with what we heard that psychotic bastard muttering when we got there," Orga said grimly to Sting.

Sting nodded his head and said, "She's staying with us until this guy is gone. We also need to contact the Rune Knights and tell them about the corpses. Maybe they can identify them, but we need them be on the lookout for him too."

"Corpses?" Rogue asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"The place was covered with them. The only reason I can think of as to why, well besides the fact that he's clearly a psychopath, is because he killed those people to keep himself from killing Lucy," Sting said with a deep scowl on his face.

Then before anything else could be said on the subject, Gemini-Wendy stopped and said, "I've stabilized her. You need to contact the real Wendy, Chelia, and Porlyusica. They will be able to take care of the rest. Porlyusica will even be able to keep Lucy from being scarred if we can get her taken care of as soon as possible."

"Thank you Gemini," Yukino said to the spirit who was now crying for their master.

Gemini's voice changed to their own, but was still stuck in Wendy's form when they said, "Thank you. Thank you for saving Lucy. We don't know what we would have done if we had lost her."

Yukino reached over to hug Gemini who was now wailing and tried to calm them down. Sting watched as Yukino held them and told them, "She's safe now. We will protect her. I swear I won't let anything happen to her."

Gemini transformed back into their normal appearance and thanked Sting again, before returning to the Celestial Realm. Then Loke returned on his own power so he wouldn't drain Yukino or Lucy as Sting told the others about the situation with Zancrow and what he had found.

After Sting had updated them, Loke asked, "So you think he'll try to come for Lucy again?"

Sting nodded and said, "Her best chance is to stay with us. We don't know where Natsu is and I don't give a shit. We can't leave her with Wendy and Chelia, because they are just kids. Also, I doubt Laxus and Gajeel are traveling together. Her best bet is to be near three slayers since the asshole can cancel out other magic."

Loke agreed to the plan, then Sting said, "Orga, since Lucy is stable, take her back to our guild. I am going to contact Wendy, Chelia, and Porlyusica tonight and tell them to haul their asses to our guild this instant."

Orga went over to pick Lucy up just as Minerva finished wrapping a blanket around her. Then Yukino said, "Wait Orga! Take these with you!"

Yukino handed Lucy's keys over to him and then looked at Loke and said, "If she wakes before we get there, she will need you guys."

"Thank you, Yukino. Thank you for everything," Loke said sincerely then nodded at Orga before he disappeared to the Celestial Realm to wait for Lucy.

Orga held onto Lucy's keys and had Lucy in his arms when he transformed them into lightning and headed back to the guild. The others were going to head back to get the other things they left behind and so Sting could get healers to Lucy as soon as possible.

* * *

Sting and his guild mates arrived just after dawn. To say he was pissed off was an understatement when he had contacted the Magic Council and found out that Gajeel was working for them. The Sabertooth Mage briefly reported what had happened then disconnected the call before Gajeel could ask any questions. Sting knew he was acting like an ass, but he didn't really care at the moment.

When Sting made his way to the healing room, Rufus was already there to greet him and reported, "Wendy, Chelia, and Porlyusica are already here. After you called Wendy and Chelia, Sherry called Ren from Blue Pegasus and Ichiya got them all here with that giant thing he keeps rebuilding, called Christina."

Sting saw all of the visitors from the other guilds in their hall, because they were all here and worried for Lucy. However, Sting didn't speak to them as he went straight to the recovery room to check on Lucy. He vaguely heard Rufus say something about Sting needing to sleep, but he didn't care. He just told Rufus to inform the other guilds of Zancrow's presence and what he could do with his magic so everyone could be on the lookout.

When he walked in, Wendy and Chelia had their hands linked above Lucy as they muttered an ancient healing language. He recognized Porlyusica and watched as the elderly woman ran a cream all over Lucy's arms. Loke nodded at him and was pacing the room as he watched the healers work on Lucy as Wendy's Exceed sat on the bed next to Lucy. Sting didn't disrupt them as he took a seat against the wall. He closed his eyes as he listened to the Slayer girls recite the incantation and he heard Yukino and Lector walk in as they came to sit by him.

* * *

The healing took hours and eventually Yukino and Lector fell asleep, but Sting couldn't. He didn't want to sleep until he knew something. His eyes opened when Porlyusica said, "You've done well girls."

The two girls stopped their flow of magic and Wendy broke down into tears as she held Lucy's hand and said, "Oh Lucy-san, I'm so glad you'll be ok. I've missed you." Chelia and Carla went over to hug Wendy as the blue haired girl continued to cry.

"Will she be ok?" Loke asked with worry.

Then Porlyusica turned to Sting and Loke before she said, "She will recover just fine. Her body is completely drained of energy after the torture she received, but I don't think I've met anyone more resilient than Lucy Heartfilia."

Sting just nodded and said, "Thank you for getting here so quickly."

Suddenly Wendy was in front of him and bowed before him as she cried, "Thank you, Sting-san. Thank you for saving a dear friend of mine."

"Thank you," Carla added in a sad voice after Wendy.

Sting just nodded at the girl and the Exceed and didn't have the heart to break the news to them that the bastard that did this to their friend was still out there somewhere trying to figure out a way to get back to her.

Porlyusica then told Wendy and Chelia, "You both need to go get some rest; that kind of magical power will leave you weak. Lucy will be fine for now."

Once the girls had left the room, Loke also excused himself so that he could let Lucy's other spirits know how she was doing.

Porlyusica said to Sting, "You did a brave thing for someone who was not of your own guild. Is it true that you intend to keep Lucy protected?"

"Well we can't really rely on Fairy Tail's Slayers at the moment besides Wendy, can we?" Sting said a little harshly.

Porlyusica didn't seem fazed by the rude comment but added, "Lucy will need to be on bed rest for two weeks. She will need to apply the cream that I have provided on her skin every day, because it will sooth the effects of the residual fire magic that Zancrow left on her. The only area where she will probably still have a scar is where her old guild mark used to be. I don't know what kind of magic that beast used on it, but she will need to apply extra cream to it and keep it wrapped up for the next week. She may also need someone to stay with her in here. After such a traumatic experience, she will need to feel safe."

"Will she wake up today?" Sting asked as he looked over at Lucy. He couldn't believe how normal she looked now. She still look exhausted and dehydrated, but he felt so relieved that she looked like she would live again.

"Probably not. It might take a day or two. She will make a full recovery physically; however, mentally it will probably take longer. Lucy has always been strong in her own unique way and has one of the purest hearts I have ever seen, but even the strongest people can break given the right circumstances," Porlyusica replied as she started to walk out the door before she added, "You are a fine guild master, Sting Eucliffe. Thank you for saving the life of a girl who means so much, to so many people."


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy tried to open her eyes, but when she did she wasn't sure what she was looking at. Zancrow was gone and everything looked so clean. She knew that she must be dead. Then suddenly she saw the bright light again as it asked, "Lucy, can you hear me?"

She tried to speak, but realized her throat was dry and she couldn't talk. She felt something press up against her lips and felt cool water slide down her throat. She closed her eyes again in relief as she tried to drink the liquid down. It felt so good.

She felt the water leave her lips and she opened her eyes to see that the light was still there beside her. She smiled because it was so calming and beautiful as she reached out for it. She felt it touch her and she laughed a little because she didn't know that light was something tangible to touch, but she felt it. It felt safe and warm, she didn't feel scared of the warmth this time because she remembered that the light had helped her before and it was helping her again.

"Am I dead?" she asked the bright light.

"No, you are just recovering. You just need to rest," the light said warmly to her.

Suddenly she felt tired again, before she closed her eyes, she whispered to the light, "Will you stay with me? Don't let him come back."

Her eyes closed when she heard the light say, "I'll stay with you and keep you safe."

"Thank you, beautiful light," Lucy said quietly before she fell back asleep.

* * *

It had been a day since Lucy arrived at Sabertooth. When Wendy gave the news to everyone that Lucy would make a full recovery, a sudden celebration broke out. The celebration lasted the whole day and many members from the visiting guilds came in to deliver flowers or other gifts for Lucy, even though she was still unconscious, but Yukino excused herself to go get cleaned up; however, Lector remained and continued to sleep next to Sting.

Sting remained in the room when the visitors came in. The first visitors were Shelly and Ren and they brought Lucy a beautiful bouquet of deep pink roses. The next group that came in was Jura, Lyon, Yuka, and Toby. Sting watched as Toby couldn't stop crying and left Lucy a stuffed dog and Yuka had to escort him out because Toby got carried away with his grief. Then Jura left a beautiful bouquet of yellow tulips. Sting watched as Lyon used his Ice-Make Magic and made Lucy a rose that wouldn't melt for several weeks. Then he saw Lyon kiss Lucy's head as he whispered to her, "I'm sorry Gray wasn't there. You are so brave, Lucy."

Sting wasn't sure why, but he didn't really like Lyon bringing up Gray to Lucy or the fact that he kissed her. However, he kept his comments to himself, especially since the next guests made Sting groan when Ichiya struck a pose in the doorframe to the room and said, "Men!"

Sting watched in silence as Ichiya, Hibiki, Eve, Jenny, and Master Bob came in each bringing their own gifts for the girl. Ichiya had made several perfumes for Lucy and told the sleeping beauty that she smelled radiant, Eve had brought her fifty white roses, Master Bob brought a bouquet of daises and some chocolates, and Jenny brought Lucy a bunch of magazines since everyone knew that Lucy would be in here awhile. However, Hibiki hung back and then gave Lucy fifty red roses. Sting wanted to shake his head at how this girl seemed to have every guy wrapped around her finger and she wasn't even conscious to do anything. Sting narrowed his eyes when he heard Hibiki whisper, "Give me a call when you wake up, beautiful Lucy." Then Hibiki kissed Lucy on the head too. As far as Sting was concerned, no one seemed to even realize he was still in the room.

After the guests had left, Rogue came in and gave him a quizzical look. Sting just sighed and said in a sarcastic tone, "Do you want to bring Lucy some flowers too and confess your undying love for her?"

Rogue looked a little taken aback before he realized that Sting was joking. Then the Shadow Dragon Slayer sat down next to his friend and teased, "I will wait until she wakes up to confess my love."

Sting snorted and said, "You're an asshole sometimes, Rogue."

Then Rogue got serious and said, "Sting, you haven't slept in days. You really need to eat and get some rest. Plus you need to shower, you smell like shit. It's so bad I can smell you over Ichiya's disgusting perfume."

"Thanks man," Sting laughed as he yawned, "But I don't want her to be alone and get scared if she wakes up."

"How about you go shower and get some food and I will wait in here with her until you get back?" Rogue suggested, because he could tell that Sting was being serious about wanting Lucy to feel safe.

Sting still didn't like the plan completely, but he realized he hadn't eaten in a few days and he did stink. He just sighed and then asked, "Are our guests staying much longer?"

Rogue got an amused smile on his face and replied, "They were going to stay the whole time, but then Porlyusica yelled at them and said they might startle Lucy so she is making them leave. She even smacked Ichiya over the head with a broom, but I don't know where she got it from. Only she, Wendy, Chelia, and Carla are staying behind because Porlyusica wants to give Lucy a checkup once she is awake."

"Thank god," Sting groaned and then he gently shook Lector awake and said, "Hey bud, let's go get some food."

Sting hardly noticed when the people from other guilds thanked him for saving Lucy and for providing her with sanctuary. He could hear Hibiki tell Eve that he wished that they could take Lucy to Blue Pegasus with them, because Laxus and his team were on their way there. Plus, they were closer to Lucy than the Sabertooth Mages were. Sting thought that was interesting news; however, Laxus was only one dude. He was still powerful, but Sting didn't like the idea of just sending Lucy off with someone from her own guild. He had been the only one to see what state she had been in when he found her and he knew she didn't need a bunch of people sticking their noses in her business when she probably wouldn't want to talk about it. Also, the comment Hibiki had about being closer to Lucy annoyed him. He knew that he hadn't been the nicest to Lucy in the past, but at least he wasn't going to try to get into her pants the moment she woke up, the way Hibiki wanted to. The arousal he smelt from Hibiki made him want to punch that pretty playboy right in his stupid face.

* * *

After Sting had showered, he put on a t-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts before he said, "Lector, I'm going to stay in the healing room with Lucy tonight. I don't want her to be scared if she wakes up."

Lector smiled and then said, "We can read her a book. I like it when you read me books when I'm sick."

Sting just laughed and said, "I don't know if Lucy would like our books."

"She might like this one," Lector pulled out one of his and Frosch's favorite books, "It's has a happy ending!"

Sting laughed when he saw Lector hold up,  _The Frog Prince Continued_. "You think she would like that huh?" Sting asked as he and Lector made their way to the medical ward past all of their leaving guests.

"Well Lucy-San looks like a princess and she has all those flowers now. This one is really funny! Please Sting-Kun!" Lector begged.

"All right, all right…We will read it to her," Sting said, "But if she wakes up and says she hates it. I'm blaming you."

"Deal!" Lector beamed up at him.

When they got back to the ward, Rogue said that Yukino had stopped by and said that she would come by in the morning and sit with Lucy for a bit so Sting could eat breakfast. However, Rogue added that Orga would come too, because neither Sting nor Rogue felt comfortable leaving Lucy without a Slayer by her side right now.

* * *

After Rogue said his goodnights and left, Sting and Lector moved some of Lucy's flowers around and put them next to the windows. However, he left the magazines, chocolates, Lyon's ice rose, and Toby's stuffed dog next to the table by the bed and the tulips that Jura had given her. Sting was tempted to throw out all of the goddamn roses because the smell of them was overwhelming with his dragon nose. Plus he couldn't help but roll his eyes when he moved Hibiki's roses and saw a note in them to Lucy that read _: Call me so that I can take you out on a date, Love Hibiki_.

"That guy's a real bastard," Sting muttered under his breath. Lucy had just been attacked and tortured for weeks by some sick fuck and Hibiki was already trying to take her out on a date. The guy clearly had no self-awareness.

When they had finished straightening up the room, Lector sat in the bed next to Lucy and got under the blankets. Then the Exceed said, "Sting-kun, can I have a glass of water before bed?"

"Sure Lector," Sting yawned and went to grab a cup from the cabinet.

Then Lector added, "If Lucy-san wakes up, then she might want a glass of water too."

"Thanks, Lector. If Lucy wakes up though, remember she might not know where she is so we don't want to scare her ok?" Sting said as he filled two cups with water.

Lector just nodded and then took a sip of his water after Sting handed him the cup. Sting sat down at the edge of the bed and opened Lector's book after he looked over and checked on Lucy. Then he started reading, "The Princess kissed the frog. He turned into a Prince. And they lived Happily Ever After…"

* * *

Throughout the night, Sting kept falling in and out of sleep. He kept waking up because he kept seeing dreams of Lucy in the state he had found her in, except in his dreams he was too late. When he would wake up to see that she was still in the bed next to him he felt relieved then would fall back asleep.

However, after one dream in particular, he couldn't fall back asleep and had to get up to walk about the room. He felt anxious and had no idea what would happen in the near future. He looked over at Lucy and grew worried, because he didn't know how she would react once she finally woke up or what he could do to help or if she would even want his help.

Then Sting froze when he saw Lucy's eyes suddenly flutter open. He could see her eyes looking around the room as though she were trying to figure out where she was. She looked dazed and confused and he said gently, "Lucy."

When it looked like she didn't hear him he asked, "Lucy, can you hear me?"

He saw her try to open her mouth so that she could speak, but nothing but scratching sounds came out. He realized that she needed water and praised Lector in his head for making him get Lucy some before bed. He grabbed the glass then gently placed it to her lips. He watched her close her eyes as she drank the liquid down and small relief began to wash over him.

When it looked like she had all that she could take, he took the cup away and sat it on the table again. He saw her brown eyes look at him and smile as she reached out her hand towards him. His felt his heart leap in his chest as he reached out to grab her delicate hand and her smile widened as she let out a gentle laugh. Was she really this happy to see him?

"Am I dead?" she suddenly asked him with a worried look on her face.

"No, you are just recovering. You just need to rest," he said warmly to her. Clearly she was exhausted and needed to sleep some more. He felt so bad for her though. She went through such horrific things and now that the pain had ended she thought the only way could be through death.

He could see the exhaustion settling on her face again and heard her whisper, "Will you stay with me? Don't let him come back."

Sting felt a mix of relief, pain, anger, and something else as he looked at Lucy. He supposed the best word would be that he felt protective of her when he replied gently, "I'll stay with you and keep you safe."

He watched her eyes close as she said quietly, "Thank you, beautiful light."

Sting knew that Lucy had fallen back asleep; however, she had held onto his hand and he whispered to himself, "Beautiful light?"

He continued to look at Lucy who now looked so peaceful, but he was confused because he didn't know what she meant by beautiful light. Did she even recognize that it was him? He gently let go of her hand and then went back to his bed. He continued to look at her to make sure that she was safe until he fell asleep again.

* * *

The next morning, Sting woke immediately the moment he heard someone at the door and was ready to attack, but then relaxed when he realized that it was only Orga and Yukino coming to sit with Lucy. Sting woke Lector up and looked over at Lucy who was still sleeping peacefully and he realized that he didn't want to leave the room again.

Then he heard Yukino ask him, "How is she doing this morning?"

"Good, she woke up briefly last night then fell back asleep," Sting said and it made Yukino smile with happiness.

Sting told his friends that he would be back soon as he and Lector went to go get some breakfast and get cleaned up. Sting rushed through everything because he wanted to get back to the room as quickly as possible. He ran to his office to grab the paperwork that he needed to complete. Rufus had left him a message saying that Gajeel had tried to call to speak with him and that the Iron Dragon Slayer wanted Sting to call him back, but Sting decided that Gajeel would just have to wait. Sting smiled when he saw Lector grab some more story books to read to Lucy and then the two headed back to the room.

When Sting walked in, Wendy, Chelia, Carla, and Porlyusica were in the room with Yukino and Orga. He watched as Wendy and Cheila ran their healing hands over Lucy to make sure that she was still ok. Then Porlyusica saw that he and Orga were in there and kicked them out so that they could get Lucy cleaned up and put more cream on her.

Once they were done, Wendy thanked him again for everything and he just patted her head. Yukino was sitting next to Lucy's bed and said, "Sting, I can sit with Lucy this morning if you need me too. I wouldn't mind at all."

"That's all right Yukino. I got a lot of paperwork to catch up on and it's nice and quiet in here," Sting said with a smile as he plopped back onto the bed next to Lucy and started his work.

Orga excused himself, but Yukino stayed for a while longer while Lector told her about how Sting had read him and Lucy a story last night. Sting just continued to work on his documents, but could see Yukino looking at him with an amused smile.

* * *

The afternoon quickly came and Rogue and Frosch had brought Sting and Lector lunch and visited with them for a little bit. He said that Lamia Scale had also contacted Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus to be on the lookout for Zancrow as well. After they had caught up, Lector went to hang out with Frosch for a while and Rogue said that he would come back and wait with Lucy while Sting got dinner again.

Once his friends had left, Sting looked over at Lucy and smiled before he started back on his paperwork.

* * *

Lucy could feel her body start to wake up. She felt sore all over, but she didn't hurt like she did before. She could feel that she was in a soft bed with smooth and cool sheets. She also could smell lots of flowers.

She slowly opened her eyes and let them adjust to the light. She smiled when she saw that the sun was shining in from a window. She slowly turned her head to the right so that she could figure out where she was and she smiled when she saw the light that had saved her sitting next to her. She remembered how it had told her that it would keep her safe and it kept its word.

Then Lucy noticed that the light had an outline now. She blinked a few times, because her vision was still a little blurry. Then as she continued to focus on the light, her eyes widened when she saw the light was a person…a person that she recognized…

"S-Sting?" Lucy whispered as she watched Sting Eucliffe sitting next to her reading and signing a huge stack of papers.

His pen froze when he heard his name and he turned to look at her. His eyes widened in what looked like relief as he put his papers down and asked, "Lucy, can you hear what I am saying?"

She continued to look at him with confusion and whispered out, "Y-yes."

"Oh, do you need a drink?" Sting asked and she watched him grab a glass of water.

When she tried to sit up, she knew that her face twisted from the pain and she heard Sting swear as he put the glass back down. She looked into his blue eyes as he asked her, "Is it ok if I help you sit up?"

She nodded at him and stiffened slightly when he first touched her and it made him hesitate. But then she relaxed because she somehow recognized his touch. It was the same touch that had helped her before. He was so gentle when he helped prop her up a little more on extra pillows so that she wouldn't have to use her own strength then he handed her the water.

"T-thank you," she whispered before she slowly took a drink of the refreshing liquid.

She kept looking at him and could tell that he was worried about something. She held onto the glass then asked, "S-Sting, how did I get here?"

She watched Sting sit down next to her and he put his arms on his knees and asked her in a gentle tone, "Do you remember where you were?"

Suddenly she felt tears in her eyes and her body started shaking and she almost spilled the water, but Sting was quick and grabbed it before it fell. She tried to breathe but everything suddenly felt overwhelming. She remembered everything. Everything that Zancrow did to her as she sobbed and gasped for air. She looked down at her right hand and saw that it was covered in a bandage but the rest of her arms didn't have any marks on them anymore.

She looked at Sting who looked like he didn't know what to say and despite the pain, she leaned forward to hold onto him. She felt his body stiffen for a second, but she didn't want to let him go when she whispered, "It was you wasn't it? You were the light in the darkness? You saved me…"

She felt relief wash over her when he put his arms around her and whispered, "That's what you called me last night and yes, I was the person that found you."

She continued to cry in his embrace. Right now she didn't care how he had found her. All that mattered was that he did. She sobbed as she thought about how she was at the point where she wanted to die. Then she whispered to him, "At first I thought you were an angel about to take me to heaven."

She felt him chuckle a little before he replied, "Sorry that I'm not an angel. Just an overprotective dragon."

Lucy smiled and then she saw a flash and heard the familiar voice of Loke say, "Lucy, thank god."

She looked over to see a very tired looking Loke and when Sting tried to pull away to give her some space, she grabbed ahold of his shirt and realized that her hand was shaking uncontrollably. It was like she was afraid for him to leave. He seemed to know what she wanted without her having to ask so he stayed right next to her on her bed when she smiled at Loke and said, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

She felt her heart ache when Loke dropped down to his knees beside her bed. She could see that fear and regret in his eyes, when he said, "I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you."

She shook her head no. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet and Loke seemed to understand, so she just said, "It's not your fault. I love all of you and I'm sure that you never gave up on me. Thank you, Loke."

Loke started crying too as he pressed his head onto her bed. She reached one of her hands over and stroked his head and asked, "Loke, could you please tell everyone that I'll be ok and that I love them. Plus, you look like you need to get some rest."

The Zodiac Leader just laughed and said, "Anything for you Princess. We will be here if you need us."

She smiled at him as he disappeared back into the Celestial Realm. She was so relieved that her spirit friends were safe and that they were real. She felt guilty that she wanted to die after seeing the pain on Loke's face. They would have been devastated if she would have died.

She looked down because she realized that she was still holding onto Sting. She felt nervous, because it's not like she was close to Sting before he had saved her. He had saved her though; he was there before when she was captive and he hadn't been a dream. Then he was here again when she woke up. She almost felt like she needed him.

Finally Sting said in a kind tone, "Wendy, Chelia, and Porlyusica are here and they have been treating you. They will probably want to know that you are awake."

She almost panicked and then asked, "Are you leaving?"

She looked into his eyes and watched as they softened before he answered, "Rogue will be in here shortly, so I'll ask him to go get them. I'll stay with you."

"Thank you," she whispered and then felt relief wash over her when Sting pulled her into his embrace again.

Sting could tell that Lucy didn't feel like talking anymore right now, so he continued to hold her as she took deep breaths in and out; matching her breath to his own. He had no idea that she would have reacted this way towards him. When she looked at him with those big brown eyes of hers, he thought he would have to be a real bastard to leave her side when she was clearly still terrified. He had even felt a little flattered that she thought he was an angel, since most people he knew would probably call him the opposite of that.

Then Sting heard Rogue coming down the hallway, so he whispered to Lucy, "Rogue is almost here. It's ok though, I won't leave you."

He still felt guilty when he felt Lucy try to grab ahold of him tighter so he moved closer to her, because he knew that her entire body was still sore and weak. He could also hear her heartbeat go frantic when Rogue walked in, so he gently rubbed her back with his hand then looked over at Rogue who was frozen where he stood.

"Rogue, can you go get Wendy, Chelia, and Porlyusica and tell them that Lucy is awake?" Sting asked as Rogue looked at him in an interesting way as he studied his and Lucy's body position.

"Of course," Rogue finally responded with a slight smile on his face.

"And can you make sure that they are the only ones, besides Carla, that come in right now? Until Lucy gets adjusted," Sting added as he felt Lucy relax into his embrace more and her heartbeat started to even out.

Rogue seemed to understand then whispered in a low tone, so that only Sting would be able to hear him, "I'll also tell them to not get excited or loud."

Sting nodded his head, because Rogue clearly could sense Lucy's anxiety and they didn't know how she would take lots of people. Especially since she didn't even want Sting to leave when Loke appeared. He knew that people would probably think him being this close to her was weird, but he didn't care. It somehow felt natural to him.

As they were waiting for the others to get back, he had to bite back a laugh when Lucy asked, "Why are there so many flowers in here?"

"Those are from your admirers," Sting said with a smile.

However, he felt Lucy tense and she started trembling. He felt like he stopped breathing when she whispered out, "Sting, is he dead?"

He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want her to panic. He wanted her to know that she was safe. He held onto her a little tighter and admitted, "He was, but then Orga and Rogue said he came back to life."

Lucy started crying again and she whispered, "I was afraid you would say that. When he…when he was…he said he had to pay a price. Someone had helped him."

Sting could feel his jaw tightening as he held Lucy in his arms before he reassured her, "I swear to you, that I won't let him hurt you ever again. I will keep you safe."

"You saw what he did to me, didn't you?" Lucy asked him in a quiet voice.

"Yes," Sting stated, not being able to hide the anger in his voice, but then he added, "No one else besides me saw where you were. You don't have to talk about it with anyone. Not until you want to and if you never want to, that's ok too."

"Thank you, Sting," Lucy whispered as her crying softened.

Then Sting heard the healers approaching, so he said, "They are almost in here. Do you want me to stay next to you or do you want me to sit on the other bed."

He almost felt relieved when Lucy pleaded, "Stay."

"Of course," Sting replied as he started rubbing her back again when he felt her tremors start back up.

Porlyusica gently knocked on the door before they entered. Sting watched as Wendy's eyes filled with tears, but she wiped them away as the women came over to check on Lucy. He noticed that Carla was giving him the stink eye as he held Lucy, but he didn't care and he didn't let go of Lucy.

Then Porlyusica spoke first and asked in the nicest tone Sting had ever heard her use and actually didn't even know it was possible for her to use, "Lucy dear, may Wendy and Chelia use their magic to give you a check-up?"

When Lucy didn't respond, Porlyusica looked at Sting with a slight smile and added, "It's ok, Sting can still hold you while they do it."

Sting felt Lucy's body relax then she whispered, "Ok."

Wendy then spoke gently, "Lucy-san, you won't feel a thing." Then Wendy and Chelia hovered their hands over Lucy.

Even though they weren't touching Lucy, Sting could feel Lucy shaking like a leaf. It made him wish that they would hurry the hell up; however, he knew that both Wendy and Chelia could sense how uncomfortable that they were making Lucy and he felt bad when he saw Wendy trying to fight back tears. When they were done they nodded at Porlyusica.

The elderly woman then said, "You will recover just fine Lucy. I left some lotion with Sting that you will need to apply every day. He can explain it to you, but you will probably need Yukino or Virgo to help you with it." Then Porlyusica shot him a threatening glare as though she were warding him off from putting the cream on her.

Lucy nodded then said timidly, "Thank you everyone."

"Of course child," Porlyusica said with a sweet smile then added, "If you need anything else then just call me and I will come to Sabertooth to help."

Then Porlyusica and Chelia said their goodbyes, but Wendy and Carla stayed behind. The young Dragon Slayer said, "Lucy-san, I'm so sorry about what happened."

When Lucy just nodded her head, Carla added, "We had no idea that you were alone. If we did…we would have…"

Then the normally uptight Exceed started to cry along with Wendy. Sting felt Lucy's body relax, but she continued to cling to him as she said, "It's not your fault for what happened. I made the choice to travel alone. Don't blame yourselves and thank you for getting here so quickly to help me."

Sting was relieved that Wendy and Carla didn't push Lucy any further, but that was perhaps because Wendy could smell Lucy's anxiety. The two said their goodbyes, but they told Lucy that they would come back and visit her soon, and thanked Sting again before they left the room.

Once the door closed, Lucy let out a relieved sigh. She finally started to feel a little more at ease with just Sting there holding her. She felt guilty though, because maybe he didn't want to be holding her. Perhaps she was being too needy, but then she started panicking again at the thought of his touch going away.

"Lucy?" Sting asked, breaking Lucy's thoughts a little bit.

She looked up into Sting's blue eyes and they didn't look annoyed, but caring and full of concern. She knew that he probably could sense her about to panic. She felt guilty when she said, "I don't know why you saved me, but I'll always be grateful. I just feel…well…I don't want to burden you, but at the same time I'm so scared for you to leave. I'm so scared the darkness will come back."

Sting's heart broke at Lucy's confession. He couldn't blame her for feeling so confused, in fact he felt a little confused himself with how protective he felt given that they hadn't been exceptionally close in the past and he had been a complete asshole to her when they first met. Then he brushed her hair behind one of her ears and replied in a gentle tone, "I saved you, because you are my friend and a friend of Yukino's. We didn't even hesitate when Loke found us. You are not a burden to me Lucy and I'm glad that I make you feel safe. I promised you I would protect you and that's what I will do. If you don't want me to leave your side then I won't. It's that simple, because I want you to feel safe. I want you to know that I will protect you from anything."

"You do make me feel safe. I had given up hope and wanted to die…then you found me," Lucy admitted as she rested her head on his chest, "But what if he finds me?"

Sting looked down and the girl in his arms and replied sternly, "Then I will make sure that he doesn't lay a finger on you."

* * *

The story that Sting read is called  _The Frog Prince Continued_  by Jon Scieszka


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't long after Wendy and Carla left that Rogue and Yukino brought Lucy and Sting some dinner. Sting smiled when Lucy allowed Yukino to touch her as well. The girls weren't related in anyway, but they almost had a sisterly connection the way he and Rogue were like brothers.

Rogue could see how Lucy got scared whenever she felt like Sting got too far away; however, he also noticed how Sting didn't mind accommodating the girl's needs. Rogue thought he could sense satisfaction as Sting held Lucy in his arms.

Rogue noticed that even though Yukino didn't have dragon senses, she too noticed the connection between Lucy and Sting and watched her as she suggested, "Lucy-san, would it be ok if Rogue pushed the other bed up against yours? That way you and Sting have enough room?"

The Shadow Dragon Slayer couldn't help but smile when Sting's face blushed like crazy, but both Yukino and Lucy missed it. Lucy nodded her head, so Yukino moved the table between the beds out of the way and Rogue pushed the beds together as quietly as he could. Rogue then left a communication lacrima with Sting in case they needed anything and Yukino told Lucy that she would come by and check on her in the morning. Neither Rogue nor Yukino wanted to push Lucy or overwhelm her so they said their goodnights and Rogue told Sting that Lector would stay the night with him and Frosch tonight.

Once their friends had left, Sting looked down at Lucy and asked, "Do you think you could eat something? It smells like Yukino made you her miso soup, it's really good."

Lucy smiled at him faintly and replied, "Sure."

Sting gave Lucy a gentle hug then got up to get their food. He handed Lucy a tray table then set out the soup and tea for her. However; Rogue had prepared Sting's food since it was obviously a huge steak with potatoes, soup, salad, and a lot of other things. He sat down next to Lucy with his own tray and the two ate in silence. He realized that Lucy probably hadn't had a decent meal in weeks, but she could still hardly eat the whole bowl of soup. He on the other hand, helped himself to more.

While he was eating, Lucy asked him, "Sting, a-am I keeping you from doing things you need to do?"

"Of course not. I actually was able to get caught up on a lot of paperwork that I didn't have time to do before," Sting replied with a smile.

Lucy just nodded her head and then started to look at all of the flowers in the room. Sting saw where Lucy's eyes went and he told her who each of the flowers and gifts were from. She even chuckled a little when he said that Toby brought her the stuffed animal. "Which ones are your favorite?" Sting asked as he motioned towards the gifts.

He watched Lucy's big brown eyes looked at them all again and said, "The tulips from Jura are really beautiful. They remind me of spring. I think we will need to try the chocolates from Master Bob though, because those might top the flowers."

"Those are yours, I can't eat them," Sting laughed, but deep down he was celebrating since Hibiki's or Lyon's weren't her favorite.

Lucy shook her head and solemnly said, "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, so I want to share them."

He watched a frown appear on Lucy's face. He knew that Porlyusica said it would take her awhile to heal mentally. Sting looked forward to the day when Lucy would smile again all of the time, but until then he would help make sure that she would be safe and happy. So he leaned over and said, "I thought that Ichiya's gift would have been your favorite."

He was actually shocked and couldn't help but laugh when she replied, "I'm actually relieved that I was unconscious when he came in."

After they had eaten, Sting cleaned up their plates and he could tell that Lucy was starting to get tired again, but she looked like she was fighting sleep.

"So what do you feel like doing?" Sting asked with a grin.

Lucy blinked at him a few times then asked, "Do you need to finish your paperwork?"

He let out a playful sigh and replied, "Yeah…probably. But if I can get it all done tonight, tomorrow we can play cards or watch movies. I can have Yukino bring you books if you want. We will get you whatever you need."

Sting realized that he must have said something wrong when she looked down and said, "I-I'll pay you guys back for everything. I don't want to be a burden."

He grabbed his things and sat down next to her and replied sincerely, "You will never be a burden, so don't believe that for a second. You don't have to pay us back either, but if for some reason you want to—just know I'll reject your money. You can join Sabertooth if you want and work for me when you are ready."

"W-what?" Lucy asked, obviously taken aback by the offer.

Sting looked at Lucy seriously and said, "I told you that I would protect you and I plan to keep my promise. You are safest in Sabertooth where there are three Slayers and I don't intend to let you out of my sight for long."

Lucy looked down at her hands and then she asked in a sad tone, "He cancelled out my magic didn't he?"

When Sting nodded, Lucy began to tremble again. However, Sting just leaned up against the bed next to her and wrapped his arm around her. He smiled a little when she immediately curled herself up next to him and rested her head on his chest. He didn't want to hide anything from her, because she needed to know the truth so he said, "It wasn't just you though. He cancelled out Minerva's and Yukino's too. That's why I'm insisting that you stay with me. He couldn't hurt me, Rogue, or Orga and we won't let him hurt you ever again."

He wasn't surprised when Lucy started crying again, so he just held her close to him. She didn't cry long, because he rubbed her back and kept telling her that he would keep her safe. He smiled when her breathing finally started to even out and she whispered, "Thank you, Sting."

"You're welcome, Lucy. You can rest easy tonight, because I will be with you," Sting said as Lucy gently nuzzled into him more.

He kept one of his arms around her while he read his paper work with his other hand. He knew that she was still awake, but she seemed to be content with the silence. It wasn't much later that he felt her finally fall asleep. He couldn't help but smile as she wrapped one of her arms around his waist. He had actually never had this type of physical relationship with someone. Of course he had lots of sexual hookups, but that is all they were—one night stands. He never shared a bed with anyone besides Lector and he sure as hell never cuddled anyone. Even though they were cuddling because of terrible circumstances, he found himself glad that he could make her feel so safe.

As Sting looked at Lucy he almost felt a little guilty. He knew he was protective of Lucy now, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it was more than that. Obviously he wanted to kick the shit out of Zancrow, but something told him that Natsu would try to come back into Lucy's life and that pissed Sting off. Everything that Zancrow did to Lucy was because of Natsu, so Sting wasn't going to let her just go off with him if the asshole showed back up and tried to act like everything was suddenly ok. His brows furrowed together at the thought though, because he didn't know what he would do if Lucy wanted to go with Natsu. It made his heart feel sick. He supposed he would have to worry about that if it ever came to that.

* * *

Sting finally finished his paperwork and when he looked at the clock it was after midnight. He yawned and realized he had to pee like crazy. There was a bathroom, with showers, in an off room in the healing ward, but he was scared that Lucy would wake up and panic; however, wetting the bed didn't sound to appealing either. He gently moved Lucy's arm and quietly snuck away into the bathroom. He left the door open so that if she did wake up then she would see the light on the bathroom.

He had just finished washing his hands when he smelled fear and then heard, "STING?!"

"Shit," Sting muttered and ran back into the room and saw a panicked Lucy who was hyperventilating and had tears pouring out of her eyes. "Shit Lucy, I'm so sorry. I had to go to the bathroom," he said as he ran over to her and put his arms around her.

He felt like a huge piece of shit when Lucy clutched onto him and whimpered out, "I t-thought…I thought he killed you."

"No, I'm right here. He can't hurt me and I won't let him take me away from you. I'm so sorry for scaring you," Sting said then he kissed Lucy's head.

He realized what he had done after he did it and then let out a relieved sigh when the action seemed to calm Lucy. She didn't say anything but her breathing started to even out again. After a few moments though she said, "I have to pee too."

Sting let out a slight nervous laugh because he didn't know how this was going to work. Then Lucy asked, "Can you hand me my keys? Virgo can help me."

"Sure," Sting replied and then he felt his breath catch a little when Lucy looked at him with a kind expression.

He handed her the keys and Lucy held onto one. He was amazed that Lucy didn't even have to say anything when the Maid Spirit popped out and smiled at Lucy and said, "Hime-sama."

Lucy smiled warmly and then tears came to her eyes as she cried out, "V-Virgo, I've missed you."

Virgo wiped tears away from her own eyes and replied, "I've missed you too Hime-sama."

Lucy noticed that Virgo left out her usual punishment question, but she understood why. Then she asked, "Virgo, do you think you could help take me to the bathroom so Sting doesn't have to?"

"Of course Hime-sama," Virgo said with a smile then gave Sting a kind smile too.

Sting paced back and forth while Lucy was in the bathroom. He could smell that she got more anxious the further that she got away from him, but it's not like he could help her do female things. He sighed in relief when the door to the bathroom opened and Virgo helped Lucy out. Sting practically ran to her side then held her and said to Virgo, "I'll take it from here."

Virgo smiled widely at him and said, "Thank you Master Sting. Goodnight Hime-sama."

"Night Virgo, and thank you," Lucy said as she gave the Maid Spirit's hand a gentle squeeze before the spirit returned to the Celestial Realm.

Lucy and Sting looked at each other and then Sting, picked Lucy up in his arms as he carried her over to their joined beds. She looked at him in amazement. He seemed to calm every fear that she had every time he looked at her and every time he held her. She was too overwhelmed to figure out what it meant, but she was just grateful that he was helping her.

Sting gently laid Lucy back down and covered her with the blankets again and he walked around and got on the other side. He could feel Lucy's brown eyes follow his every move and he found himself barely being able to take his eyes off of her too. When he laid down next to her, he immediately lifted his left arm up to ease her back into his embrace. She smiled at him and instantly welcomed the closeness.

They continued to stare into each other's eyes and then Lucy finally said, "Goodnight Sting."

Sting smiled at her and replied, "Goodnight Lucy, I promise to keep you safe."

She gave him a small smile before she rested her head on his chest and he wrapped her closer to his embrace and then they let sleep take them.

* * *

The next morning arrived, but not without a few problems. Lucy had woken up two more times in tears because she had dreams that Zancrow had found her again. Sting held her and would whisper to her that she was safe. He found himself starting to wipe away her tears and then she would calm back down and match her breathing to his again, before she would lay back down. He knew he would already need to plan on having Lucy move into his room once she could leave the healing ward. She wouldn't be ready to just be alone after two weeks and she sure as hell wasn't going to be sleeping with Orga or Rogue.

Sting heard a commotion down the hall and then gently waked Lucy as he said, "Rogue, Yukino, Lector, and Frosch are coming to bring us breakfast."

Lucy nodded her head and sat up in the bed. Then Sting asked before his friends got there, "After you eat, would you be ok if Yukino helped you with the ointment you need to put on? If you want I can wait out here or I can go shower while she helps you. It's whatever you want."

"You can go shower," Lucy whispered out but her body started shaking.

Sting felt terrible but he thought this way he wouldn't have to leave her again, but he added, "Rogue will wait outside of the room until I get back, ok?"

Lucy looked at Sting and knew that he was trying to help. She didn't want to be a burden, but she felt so scared. So she just replied, "Ok."

Sting gave her a hug and held onto her as their friends came in. Frosch and Lector ran over and Lector said happily, "Morning Sting-kun, morning Lucy-san."

Sting watched as Lucy's face softened at Lector and Frosch and replied, "Good morning."

"We brought you pancakes!" Lector said as he crawled up onto the bed with them along with Frosch.

Sting took a deep breath because he had no idea how Lucy would react, but she didn't seem fazed by the Exceeds at all. She just smiled at them and she thanked Yukino when Yukino handed her a plate.

Everyone listened to Lector and Frosch talk about what they did last night. Then Lector was telling Lucy about the story books he had brought her yesterday and asked if she would read them with him and Sting. Sting watched as Rogue tried not to laugh, but Lucy just smiled at Lector and said that she would like that a lot.

* * *

After they had finished eating breakfast, Yukino and Rogue took the dishes back with Lector and Frosch before they would come back to help Lucy. Sting looked at Lucy then gently brushed his hand over hers before he said, "I'll let Yukino help you. Remember Rogue will be right outside I will be back soon."

He felt like his heart was breaking when Lucy began to shake and it looked like she was trying to fight back tears when she replied, "Ok."

Suddenly, Sting pressed his lips to her forehead and then stated, "I've changed my mind. How about, Yukino and Virgo help you in the bathroom and I'll wait out here. Rogue can go get me my things, then when you are done I'll hop in the shower. That way we will still just be one room away."

"You don't have to do that Sting," Lucy whispered sadly as she looked down out the bed.

"Technically you are right; however, I want to do this. I don't want you to be scared and I promised to protect you. Don't feel guilty because it's my choice," Sting replied with a smile.

Lucy faintly smiled back at him before he wrapped her in his embrace. Then she whispered to him, "Thank you, My Light."

Sting couldn't hold back the huge grin on his face at Lucy's words, plus he could feel her body start to relax again. He could tell that the dynamic of their relationship was unique, but Sting knew in his heart he had meant every word. He would protect Lucy and keep her safe no matter what.

Then Yukino came back in the room and Virgo came out to help too. Sting begrudgingly let go of Lucy so that Virgo and Yukino could help her shower and put on more cream.

Rogue entered the room soon after Lucy went into the bathroom. He looked at Sting with a funny smile and stated, "So I heard I'm your errand boy now and I'm going to get your things."

Sting rolled his eyes at his friend and replied, "I don't want to leave her if she's scared."

"I understand," Rogue said with a smile, "I think it's sweet of you."

"S-sweet?!" Sting practically yelled out.

The Shadow Dragon Slayer shrugged his shoulders before he added, "If I would have found her in the state you did, then I'd probably be pretty overprotective too. It's your dragon part kicking in a little, because Lucy is our friend and close to Yukino. Subconsciously Lucy falls into a category of people you'd protect, but it's more than that...it's because of who you are Sting. You are a good person and you know that Lucy is also a good person. She's beautiful, kind, and caring. You witnessed someone trying to take that from her and she was pushed to the point of wanting to die, but you saved her. Now you are devoted to keeping her safe. You're like her guardian angel—or her Light as she so eloquently called you."

Sting looked quizzically at Rogue before he snorted out, "Well aren't you Mr. Know-It-All, because of your eavesdropping."

"All I'm saying is, as much as Lucy wants you to stay—you want to stay just as bad. That's why it's sweet and you'll find our guild will be pretty supportive," Rogue said smugly before he left the room to retrieve Sting's things.

Sting shook his head at his friend. He figured the guild would be in a buzz about Lucy staying here, plus the fact that he won't leave her side. But he never would have guessed that the guild wouldn't mind.

The young Guild Master leaned his head back and tried to stay calm when he could smell Lucy's fear in the next room. He wanted to go in there so bad to tell her that she'd be safe, but he'd get a swift ass kicking from Yukino if he did that. So he just waited in misery. He thought about everything Rogue had said and couldn't help but start to worry about the future. So much has changed in the past few weeks, especially the past few days since they rescued Lucy, and as he thought about everything, he couldn't picture Lucy not being in his life. He'd find a way to finish off Zancrow, but also to keep Lucy by his side if that's what she wanted.

* * *

After Lucy was done getting ready, Sting felt his breath catch in his throat when Virgo and Yukino helped her out of the bathroom. Lucy was wearing yoga capris with a soft white tunic sweatshirt with her hair up in a messy bun. Sting smiled because Lucy was finally starting to get some color back after resting for two days.

Rogue came in with Frosch and Lector to give Sting his things. The Exceeds however had tons of books, games, and movies to show Lucy. Virgo disappeared to the Celestial Realm but not before she thanked everyone. Then Rogue went to go find Rufus to get an update on the possible whereabouts of Zancrow and Yukino insisted on waiting with Lucy until Sting was done showering.

"I'll be quick," Sting said as he looked at Lucy with a smile.

Lucy smiled back a little and nodded her head. Sting could still smell her fear, so he quickly headed into the bathroom to get ready.

Yukino smiled as she watched the interaction between her two friends. Normally Sting was easy going and carefree, but with Lucy he was protective and attentive. Yukino couldn't help but think it was kind of romantic in a non-traditional sense.

Then Yukino heard Lector ask excitedly, "Lucy-san, Yukino-San what game should we play first?"

Yukino nearly gasped when she heard a giggle come from Lucy as Frosch and Lector began piling games on top of Lucy's bed. Yukino just smiled and then suggested, "How about we let Lucy-san pick first?"

"Frosch thinks so too," Frosch agreed with Yukino but then placed Hungry Hungry Hippos in Lucy's lap.

Yukino watched as Lucy's smile met her eyes briefly before the blonde suggested, "How about we play Hungry Hungry Hippos first?"

Just as they were about to start playing, they heard a loud crash and roar come from the guild's main hall.

"What was that?!" Lector yelled as he jumped into the air.

Yukino's eyes widened when she saw Lucy wracked with fear. The blonde doubled over and covered her hands over her head and began crying and pleading, "Please no, god please not him."

Yukino wasn't sure what was happening as the fight sounded like it was getting closer. So she yelled, "Sting! Get out here!"

Then Yukino summoned out Libra and said quickly, "Libra! Put Lucy-San in the corner behind me, Lector-sama and Frosch-sama protect Lucy."

The Exceeds look terrified at first because of the battle going on outside, but then Lector nodded in determination as he jumped off the bed and stood in front of Lucy in a protective position. Then Yukino saw a bright light and Loke and Virgo appeared next to her and Libra.

Yukino could tell that Lucy's spirits were afraid just like she was that if Zancrow was on the other side of the door then they wouldn't be able to do much to stop him, but they sure as hell would try. Then Yukino gasped when the door to the healing ward was kicked open and a pair of ruby eyes shown at them then looked past her at Lucy.

* * *

Sting was just rinsing soap out of his hair when he suddenly heard a weird nose then Yukino yelled, "Sting get out here!" Then he heard Yukini summon Libra and gave orders as though they were about to be attacked.

"Fuck!" Sting shouted and his body began to fume in anger. How dare that mother fucker Zancrow show his face here. Sting would rip his throat out. Sting's body instinctively went into White Drive when he could hear Lucy crying in panic after he turned the shower off.

Sting didn't even bother grabbing a towel when he ran out of the room and stood protectively in front of Lucy and Yukino and yelled, "STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!"

But then Sting saw the man before him was not Zancrow, but Gajeel Redfox.

Sting's body was shaking in anger as he spat out towards Gajeel, "What the fuck do you think you are doing?!"

"Get the hell out of my way you naked bastard. Bunny Girl is coming with me," Gajeel growled out in annoyance.

"You aren't taking her anywhere," Sting replied in a threatening tone while his body remained in White Drive.

"She's in my guild and she's coming with me so I can keep her safe until this fucker has been dealt with!" Gajeel stated in a low tone as his arm morphed into his Iron Dragon Sword.

"Really? Where were you when she was captured?" Sting asked coldly before he growled, "That's right! Fairy Tail doesn't exist anymore!"

"Both of you, shut the fuck up!" Yukino yelled very uncharacteristically, shocking both men slightly but neither backed down.

Virgo handed Sting a towel to wrap around himself as Loke stood in-between the two Dragon Slayers and said while he kept his eyes locked onto Gajeel in a threatening manner, "Sting, if you'd be so kind to help my Princess...she needs you."

Sting immediately grabbed the towel and went over to Lucy. His heart shattered as he saw Lector and Frosch in tears as they stood guard over the blonde who was in a fetal position on the floor shaking uncontrollably and sobbing with her hands over her ears. Sting kneeled down beside her then said, "Thank you Lector and Frosch. I'll take it from here."

The young guild master then asked in a gentle tone, "Lucy, can you hear me? Can I hold you?"

Lucy continued to sob on the floor, but Sting slowly reached out his hand to touch her shoulder. He could feel Gajeel's angry eyes piercing his back, as Lucy flinched slightly then looked at Sting. Her eyes had big crocodile tears in them and then she whispered out, "S-Sting."

"I'm right here Lucy," Sting said in a pained voice. He felt terrible, because she was doing so well this morning. He sat down next to her and held out his arms to which she immediately crawled into his embrace and began to sob loudly.

"I've got you, Lucy. You are safe," Sting whispered to her as he held her close to his chest and rubbed her back.

Sting could hear Gajeel growl lowly then Loke said, "Gajeel, you need to leave the healing ward and you can explain to us what the hell you think you were doing while Sting helps Lucy."

"You are just going to leave him in here with her when he's half-naked?!" Gajeel asked in annoyance.

"Yes," Loke stated ending the conversation as he pointed towards the door for Gajeel to leave.

Yukino then said, "Frosch, let's go check on Rogue and help Loke while Sting and Lector help Lucy. Frosch nodded then followed Yukino out of the room.

Once the door was closed, Sting heard Lector start crying too. He turned to his friend while Lucy continued to cry and hold onto him and asked, "Buddy, what's wrong?"

"I wanted to protect her Sting-Kun. Lucy looked so scared, but if it would have been that man he would have beaten me. What should I do Sting-kun? I want to protect Lucy-san!" Lector wailed in agony.

Sting watched as Lucy held out her hand to Lector and Lector ran over to them both and jumped into Lucy's embrace. Sting wrapped his arms around both Lucy and Lector and said to them, "I will protect you both. You were brave Lector, but we are all in this together and I will keep you both safe."

* * *

Loke's eyes widened in shock. There were Rune Knights beaten up everywhere when they got out to the main hall and Loke looked up and saw Rogue questioning Levy and Lily. The Shadow Dragon Slayer had a huge bruise on his check and looked pissed off. Rogue's eyes met Loke's then narrowed when he saw Gajeel following him. Once Loke was standing in front of all of them, he turned and punched Gajeel across the face.

"Loke! What was that for?!" Levy yelled in shock, "Where's Lucy?"

The Lion Spirit wouldn't look at Gajeel when he asked, "What the fuck do you think you were doing breaking in here? Do you know how much pain you have just caused Lucy?"

"Apparently they thought we were holding Lucy against her will," Rogue said in disgust, "Gajeel came barging in demanding to see Lucy and when I told him that he would need to wait until Sting was done showering, Gajeel lost control and had the Rune Knights use their anti-magic runes on us."

"That is until we showed up," Orga said in annoyance as he walked up with Rufus and Minerva.

Gajeel stood up and glared dangerously at them and asked Loke, "Do you mind explaining to me why Bunny Girl latched onto that punk-ass Sabertooth Master who is half naked?"

"Maybe because he saved her!" Yukino said in defense for her friend.

Then Levy spoke up and said, "Rogue said that Sting saved her, but the Lucy we know wouldn't not want to see us."

"The Lucy you know wasn't tortured by a murdering psychopath for three fucking weeks was she? The Lucy you knew didn't want to end her life did she?" Loke growled out in anger, "How dare you guys just storm in here thinking you know best because you were in Lucy's guild with her longer than she has known the members of Sabertooth. It was my choice to find Yukino and ask for their help, because I had no idea where any of you were."

"Where is Natsu?" Lily finally asked trying to calm the situation down a little.

"Don't know. Don't really fucking care," Loke stated in annoyance.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Levy asked now confused.

"Again, maybe if you assholes would have listened to Rogue to begin with I could have explained to you before you scared the shit out of Lucy," Loke barked back.

The three former Fairy Tail mages listened to Loke's tale of Natsu leaving a note behind for Lucy before Fairy Tail got disbanded and then how Lucy decided to go to Crocus for work. He briefly went into how she had been captured and tortured by Zancrow and now she would only let a few people near her, but mostly just Sting because he saved her.

Levy was in tears by the end of Loke's story and even Lily brushed a few tears away from his eyes. Loke looked over at Gajeel who looked like he was trying to process everything before Loke asked, "Do you see why your actions were inappropriate? Lucy is trying to heal mentally and it will take a long time. Acting like she is the same Lucy will cause her more pain. Lucy used to make everyone smile, but Zancrow stole that smile away. If you don't believe me, call Wendy because she was even scared to let Wendy touch her! Now it's my job to make sure that she is safe and that she feels safe. If she feels safe with Sting then Lucy will stay with Sting."

"Plus there are three Slayers in Sabertooth. Lucy's best bet is with us since Zancrow can cancel out other magic users," Rogue added in.

"I can keep her safe," Gajeel snapped back.

"So can Sting," Yukino said as she took a stance next to Loke.

Gajeel snorted and asked, "If I ask her to come with me and she says yes, will you let her come?"

"What don't you get about this Gajeel?" Loke asked in disbelief, "You just scared the fucking shit out of her so bad that she thought Zancrow was back."

"Exactly! I made it to her! Do you really think Sting could have fought me off if I would have tried to take Lucy by force?" Gajeel argued with Loke.

"Yes," Rogue spoke up seriously, "Having fought you before Gajeel, I know your strength; however, I also know Sting's true strength. He will never let anyone hurt Lucy or take her away from him. He would have killed you."

Gajeel arched his eyebrow at Rogue before the Shadow Dragon Slayer added, "I'm being serious. Plus you cheated by bringing almost a whole army with you and we didn't want to kill you. Zancrow is one man that everyone in Sabertooth will try to destroy if he crosses paths with us."

Then before anything else could be said, Gajeel said gruffly, "I could have you all arrested. I'll come back and speak with Bunny Girl myself later." Then the Iron Dragon Slayer stormed out of the guild.

"I'm so sorry," Levy said to Loke and the Sabertooth Mages.

"I'll go talk to him," Lily said before he added, "Levy get our knights out of here and pay for the damages they caused.

Loke watched as Lily flew after Gajeel. Then he turned to Yukino and Rogue and asked, "Can you guys make sure that Lucy isn't bothered for a while. It's not good..."

Yukino and Rogue looked at each other, because they knew Loke could feel Lucy's pain. Then Rogue replied, "Of course, Orga, Minerva and Rufus will stay overnight so we don't have another outburst."

Loke thanked them then returned to the spirit world sadly.

* * *

"Gajeel! Wait up!" Lily called out to his friend.

Gajeel didn't feel like slowing down he was pissed, but then he heard Lily say sternly, "Gajeel Redfox, you stop this instant!"

The Iron Dragon Slayer stopped in his tracks before he growled, "What the fuck do you want Lily?"

The black Exceed caught up with him and said, "First, you will not speak to me that way. Second, you will tell me why you flipped out and practically went full dragon mode on Rogue when he told you to wait. His request was reasonable."

Gajeel sighed in annoyance. Fairy Tail had barely been disbanded for a month and Bunny Girl already had another person that wanted her for some messed up purpose. Finally Gajeel replied, "If I would have known that she wasn't with Salamander then I would have made her come with us."

Lily looked at his longtime friend and started to understand. Everyone thought Gajeel liked Levy. The Iron Dragon Slayer didn't care, because Levy wasn't attracted to men at all but she wasn't ready to tell people that. So letting everyone believe that they liked each other was easier and a way that Gajeel could protect his friend. However, the person Gajeel had always had feelings for was Lucy, but he never did anything because he thought the girl loved Natsu. Finding out from Loke that Natsu went his own way must be painful for Gajeel to hear.

Then Gajeel added to Lily, "Hearing that Zancrow tortured Bunny Girl for three weeks while we were off sitting comfy with the council bothers me. I should have been there. I could have protected her."

Lily remained quiet for a minute before he said, "We are here now. We can help Sabertooth protect her."

Gajeel looked at Lily in shock and asked, "What? Do you mean join Sabertooth?"

Lily shrugged his shoulders, "Four slayers are better than three. Levy could stay on the council and feed us information while we help protect Lucy."

"Doubt they'd let us join now," Gajeel harrumphed out.

"Well you definitely need to let Sting calm down first, but he seems to care about Lucy and he'd probably see it as another way of protecting her," Lily admitted.

Gajeel let out a sigh as he thought about the situation. He didn't like the fact that Bunny Girl was in Sting's arms right now, but he would believe Loke that Sting made Lucy feel safe. The truth is, after everything they had all went through together as Fairy Tail Mages—Gajeel had never seen Lucy look so broken. She always had a smile and a positive outlook and now it was like that had been stolen from her by a murdering son of a bitch.

The Iron Dragon Slayer let out another sigh as he looked at Lily and said, "All right, let's join Sabertooth to protect Bunny Girl."


	6. Chapter 6

After Lector had calmed down, Sting suggested that his little friend go hang out with Frosch. Sting hated seeing Lector so torn up about Lucy, but his heart couldn't help but swell with pride at how determined Lector had been to protect her.

Once Lector was gone, Sting whispered to Lucy, "Lucy, I'm going to move us to the bed."

Lucy just nodded against his chest as he wrapped his arms under her then lifted her up off the floor. However, he froze when his towel hit the floor and he stood there holding her naked. How was he going to put her on the bed without freaking her out?!

But then his eyes widened when he heard Lucy let out a faint giggle before she whispered, "I won't look."

Sting let out a relieved sigh and then he felt embarrassed when he realized that he had ran out naked in front of everyone to protect Lucy, then he had been holding Lucy in just his towel. He swallowed hard before he asked, "After I lay you down? Would it be ok if I grabbed my shorts from the bathroom?"

Lucy just nodded her head and kept her eyes closed. Sting gently laid her down then grabbed his towel off of the floor and went to the bathroom to grab his clean shorts. He could hear Lucy start to cry again so he ran back over, after he had put his shorts back on, and got on the bed next to her and smiled when she crawled into his arms.

"I'm sorry I wasn't in here when Gajeel stormed in," Sting said seriously. The truth is he felt like shit that he hadn't been in the room already, but he was thankful that he changed his mind and at least decided to stay in the healing ward.

However Lucy just replied sadly, "Thank you for being here, but it's not your job to protect me."

Sting looked down at the girl in his arms. He could still smell fear but she almost looked ashamed, so he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I wasn't even in your guild. We were just friends..." Lucy whispered back, "I don't understand why you care and why you aren't mad at me for being a burden. I'm disrupting everyone's lives in Sabertooth."

"Don't talk like that, please," Sting begged, "Remember what I said; it's my choice. I want to protect you and so does everyone else here."

"But why?" Lucy cried honestly.

"Because we care about you. I care about you. I saw what he did to you and I'm not going to let him steal your light away," Sting relied and he felt his body get angry at the thought of seeing Lucy like that again.

"You're my light though Sting," Lucy whispered, "I feel like I'm about to fall over the edge in despair and you're the only thing for me to hold onto. I know that sounds stupid, but I can't help it. That's how I feel."

Sting gently lifted Lucy's chin up so that she could look into his eyes, "I don't think that's stupid at all. I feel honored to be by your side and I won't let Zancrow take me away from you. I might be your light in the darkness, but you are my soul. Your pain is my pain. When you are off of bed rest, will you stay with me in my room? I don't want you to get too far away."

Lucy's brown eyes looked at him in relief and amazement at his honesty. Then she nodded her head before she rested it on his chest. Lucy honestly didn't know what was happening between her and Sting. All she knew was that she needed him. She might be codependent right now, but she didn't care. If he wasn't here by her then she knew that she would fall apart. Her head felt tired and she could feel her body start to relax when she breathed in Sting's calming scent and felt him kiss her head. She began to match her breathing to his again then let exhaustion take her into a nap.

Sting laid awake and stared at the ceiling while Lucy slept in his arms. He felt like his heart wouldn't slowdown from the mix of emotions that he was feeling. Lucy had snuck into his heart and he knew that she was there to stay. He would never have wished the pain that she went through onto her; however, he was thankful ever since then that he saved her and that he could now protect her. But still…he was furious. How dare Gajeel just storm in here like that, but then Sting couldn't wait for Rogue to explain how the fuck it happened to begin with.

He looked down at Lucy and could tell that she was completely out of it, he gently kissed her head before reached over and grabbed the communication lacrima that Rogue had left for him. He sent his magic through it and waited for his friend to answer. He saw Rogue's face had a large bruise and whispered, "Lucy is sleeping, but come to the room and tell me what happened from the edge." Then he cut off the signal.

It only took a few minutes for Rogue to make it down the hallway. The Shadow Dragon Slayer carefully entered the room so as not to wake Lucy then shut the door behind him. Rogue looked at Sting from across the room and said lowly enough that Lucy wouldn't hear, "While you were showering, Gajeel showed up with the Rune Knights. I told him to wait until you were done showering so that you could speak to him first because Lucy was recovering and was very nervous. They had the audacity to think that we were keeping her against her will."

Sting let out a heavy sigh, he was pissed and almost started shaking but controlled himself because Lucy was sleeping peacefully. Then Rogue continued, "The Knights used their anti-magic barriers and we didn't want to kill them since that is against the law and that's how Gajeel got to you. Then Rufus, Minerva, and Orga showed up and beat the shit out of the Knights. Not long after that is when Loke came out with Gajeel and punched him in the face. The former Fairy Tail mages had thought Lucy was with Natsu."

There was a small pause as Sting thought over everything Rogue had said, but then his friend added, "There is one more thing you should know. Levy paid for the damages and went back to the magic council; however, Gajeel and Lily wish to join Sabertooth to help protect Lucy and Levy will feed them any information on Zancrow. It's your decision though."

Sting looked at his friend in exasperation. Rogue seemed to know what Sting was thinking though so he said, "From what I witnessed in Gajeel…he appears to have affections for Lucy. He was irate when he found out that Lucy had not gone with Natsu—or I guess I should say Natsu didn't ask her to go. In my opinion, four slayers would be better than three for Lucy's sake. I know she won't leave your side and you won't leave hers, which is why Gajeel might be beneficial—strategically speaking."

Sting knew his friend was right. The more slayers that there were, then the quicker they could deal with Zancrow so Lucy would feel safe knowing that she never had to worry about him again. He nodded his head and whispered, "Rogue, he can join under a few circumstances; One, he doesn't not come near Lucy until I say it is ok. She is the one that decides when she is ready to talk to other people and have visitors. Two, if I give him an order involving Lucy and/or Zancrow, then he follows it without question because my duty is to keep her safe and I am the Master of this Guild. Three, he helps us kill this son of a bitch for Lucy's sake."

Rogue smiled and nodded before he excused himself from the room and said he would be back later with lunch for them. Then once Rogue had left, Sting had found himself nearly as exhausted as Lucy from the commotion this morning. Plus, holding her in his arms was very relaxing. He breathed in the sweet smell of strawberries from her hair then allowed himself to rest alongside her.

* * *

Lucy's two weeks of bedrest was finally up and it had been a very interesting recovery. For the most part, Lucy seemed to be doing fine if she was just with Sting and Lector. However, he noticed that she did get more quiet and reserved whenever they had visitors—except Yukino, Rogue, and Frosch. Sting didn't mind that Lucy wasn't ready for other visitors yet, but Rogue said that Gajeel didn't seem to be angry anymore as everyone waited to see Lucy. Most of Lucy's recovery time was spent with Sting reading Lucy and Lector books, watching movies, or playing games. Plus, Lucy had finally broken into her chocolate stash from Master Bob and decided that it was her favorite present over the tulips. Sting had also noticed one day after he had showered that Lucy had started throwing away the flowers everyone had given her because they were dying and he had found Hibiki's note to Lucy ripped up in the trash, but she never brought it up.

Porlyusica had stopped by the guild to check on Lucy the day before her release to see how she was healing up. Sting had felt terrible when he saw Porlyusica remove the bandage that Lucy kept on her right hand. Instead of seeing the bright pink Fairy Tail guild insignia, there was a giant scar that ran down her hand diagonally; all the way from her pinkie to the base of her wrist.

Sting held onto Lucy while tears fell down her face as Porlyusica examined it. The elderly woman gave Lucy another ointment and told her to apply the cream to it every day and every night and the scar should fade over time.

Another thing that happened the day Porlyusica visited was Virgo and Yukino had helped make Sting's room more comfortable for Lucy. He knew that everyone in the guild was probably freaking out at the fact that Lucy was going to be moving into his room with him, but Rogue kept saying no one seemed to mind—other than Gajeel. However, Sting was too afraid to ask if they put a bed in there for Lucy. He had a King Sized bed and they had already been sleeping together so it wasn't a big deal to him if it continued. In fact, the past few days every day he woke up Lucy was completely on top of him and Lector on top of his head. He actually really enjoyed the feeling that it gave him—like he mattered to someone.

* * *

Lucy stood nervously next to him. Virgo had brought her a white tunic dress with a soft gray cardigan that had sleeves that went down to the tips of her fingers so that her scar wasn't too noticeable. The extra little bit of clothing seemed to make Lucy feel a little safer. Sting thought she looked breathtaking with her golden hair down as she held onto his hand.

It was nearing lunch and Lucy was about to leave the healing ward for the first time after her arrival to eat with him in the guild. Rogue had already gave instructions for everyone not to be loud or rambunctious until Lucy started to get used to her surroundings. Sting prayed to the gods that everything would go smoothly today so that Lucy could feel safe.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and asked, "Are you ready?"

When Lucy didn't say anything and continued to stare at the ground he smiled gently and then pulled her into a hug and asked, "Will you tell me what's on your mind?"

"It's just…will people get mad at you for being with me? Do you want me to stay away from you…and not touch you…" Lucy whispered out.

Sting pushed her away from him a little so that he could look into her worried brown eyes and said with his reassuring smile, "No one will get mad that I am with you. Everyone at Sabertooth wants to keep you safe and happy. No I do not want you to stay away from me. I want you by my side the entire time and I'll hold onto you the whole time. Hell, you can even sit in my lap on my throne if you want."

His smile broadened when Lucy let out a faint giggle. He pulled her into his embrace again before he gently kissed her head and then he heard her say, "Thank you, Sting."

"Anything for you, Lucy," Sting replied as he wrapped his arm around her and they left the healing ward together.

He could feel her trembling next to him and he started to rub her back and then asked, "How about after we eat lunch, I show you our room and my office?"

Sting suddenly felt like his heart stopped when blush covered Lucy's face and he heard her pulse quicken in a different way besides fear. Then she timidly answered, "I'd like that."

As they got closer to the guild hall, Sting could hear the commotion of his comrades. He reached down and held onto Lucy's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She smiled at him and even though he was glad that she was doing better, his heart still broke that she was so hurt and scared.

After they walked in, everyone in the guild seemed to quiet down as they watched their Master hold hands with the former Fairy. Sting could feel Lucy's body start to tremble more and wanted to growl at everyone for being too obvious, but then luckily a few of them called out politely and just said, "Hey Master!"

Sting let out a sigh of relief as he led Lucy over to the table where he saw Lector, Frosch, Rogue, and Yukino. Everyone casually gave him a hello and they would smile at Lucy, but she didn't notice because she kept her eyes locked onto the ground as Sting guided her through Sabertooth. He was thankful that she trusted him to keep her safe even though he could smell her fear, but he just gave her hand another reassuring squeeze to let her know that he had her.

When they got to the table, Lector said happily, "Hey Lucy-san! Hey Sting-kun!"

Lucy smiled at the little Exceed that was sitting on the table next to Frosch enjoying their lunches. Sting and Lucy sat down and Sting immediately wrapped his arm behind Lucy so that she would feel safe. He found it difficult to concentrate when her rich brown eyes looked at him with happiness at his gesture and he couldn't help but blush a little under her gaze which made her blink in surprise for a moment.

"Hi Lucy-san," Yukino greeted Lucy cheerfully, "I love your dress and your cute gray sweater."

"Thank you," Lucy said feeling a little safer as she felt Sting's thumb rub soothing circles through her sweater.

However, her eyes widened in shock after Sting asked what she would like to eat and she saw Gajeel staring at her from Sabertooth's bar with Lily next to him. Lucy knew that Gajeel hadn't meant to scare her a few weeks ago, but she had been so terrified at the thought of Zancrow coming to find her. What if he found her here at Sabertooth and killed everyone? What if he killed Sting?

Sting could suddenly smell fear coming off of Lucy and looked to where her eyes were locked and let out a low growl when he saw Gajeel watching them. He was just about to snap when Lucy asked, "C-can I talk to Gajeel and Lily?"

Sting watched as Gajeel's eyes widened a little in shock, because he obviously would have been able to smell Lucy's fear too, in fact he could see that even Rogue felt tense from the situation. Then Sting cleared his throat and answered, "Of course. Do you want me to go?"

"No," Lucy replied instantly, "You all can stay."

Sting looked at Gajeel and motioned with his head that they could come over. The Iron Dragon Slayer slowly walked over to them and took a seat at the table as Lily floated over and stood next to Lector and Frosch. Gajeel eyed Sting in annoyance but spoke to Lucy and said, "Hey Bunny Girl."

"It's good to see you, Lucy," Lily added in a kind tone.

Lucy looked down at her hands nervously and replied, "Hey."

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Lucy finally added, "Gajeel, I know you didn't mean to scare me that day, but can you understand that I'm scared?"

Sting could feel Lucy's body start to shake and he pulled her close to him again and he could sense everyone's pain around him as they watched the former heart of Fairy Tail barely beat before their eyes. Gajeel was looking down too when he said, "I understand."

Then Gajeel's red eyes looked at Sting seriously before he continued, "I know that Sting will keep you safe, which is why Lily and I joined Sabertooth to help him do that."

Lucy smiled faintly because she had remembered that Sting had told her a few days after Gajeel had broken in that the Iron Dragon Slayer and Lily joined Sabertooth. Then she replied, "Thank you Gajeel and Lily."

"Of course, Lucy," Lily said proudly, "We are here for you."

After they talked for a few minutes, Gajeel and Lily excused themselves so that they could get a report from Levy. The others at their lunch together as Rogue caught Sting up on important events and Lucy smiled and was thankful that Sting had kept his word and never left her side.

* * *

Zancrow screamed out in agony in the darkness. "PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME AGAIN!"

A voice echoed in his head as it seethed, "I helped you before and you failed. Be gone from my domain!"

"I beg of you! I will not fail you again!" Zancrow pleased in misery as he remained prostrate on the ground that was littered with bones and rotting corpses, "There were complications. I faced three slayers instead of just one! I was not prepared! Please I need new magic! I'll do anything!"

"I cannot give you magic to cancel out other Slayers," the voice hissed in anger.

"I need her. I need to make that little bitch pay. I was so close to breaking her and could have if I could have defiled her in every way," Zancrow began to cackle insanely.

"Be gone! That is not my concern!" the voice spat out before Zancrow began to feel boney arms grip him as they began to drag him away from the dark domain.

"No please!" the God Slayer begged, "I'll do whatever you ask! Please give me back the price I had to pay and I will serve you for all eternity!"

The hands that were dragging him stopped as the voice thought about the offer. Zancrow dared not speak as he trembled on the ground and felt the broken bones on the ground pierce into his flesh.

Finally the voice answered, "The new price will be one of your hands and one of your legs, from the knee down."

"But!" Zancrow tried to shout.

"SILENCE!" the voice cried, "HOW DARE YOU ARGUE MY DECISION WHEN IT WAS YOU THAT CAME TO ME FOR HELP!"

Zancrow remained silent as the voice declared, "It was I that brought you back from the grave to do my biding. It was I that brought you to life once more when another God Slayer destroyed you and it is my choice to take away more flesh for the price of returning flesh to you!"

Suddenly Zancrow felt a painful heat burn through his veins as the voice said, "I will give you what you ask back, but I will give you a new list of names to kill. You did well at destroying the innocents for me last time, but then you got distracted by the Celestial Mage—do not let it happen again. Use her and be done with her."

"Yes Master," Zancrow cried insane tears of joy.

"It will be many months before you can return to Earthland and it will be very painful," the voice began to laugh wickedly as Zancrow screamed out in agonizing pain.


	7. Chapter 7

After Sting and Lucy ate lunch, they excused themselves so that Sting could show her around Sabertooth. Their friends just smiled and Sting blushed a little as they were walking away when Yukino whispered to Rogue, "I like this sweet side of Sting! He's so cute with Lucy-san!"

"Frosch thinks so too," Frosch agreed with his friend.

Lucy felt nervous as Sting led her down a hallway. Lunch had went well, but she wasn't used to being around so many people again. She knew that she was safe here, but deep down inside she knew she would see Zancrow again at any time and she feared it.

Suddenly Sting asked, "You ok?"

"I don't know," Lucy whispered.

Sting gave Lucy's hand a gentle squeeze before he added, "Our room is just around the corner and we can talk in there."

Lucy nodded then asked, "Does everyone in Sabertooth live here?"

"Not everyone. A lot of the unmarried people do; however, everyone else's living quarters are on the opposite side of the guild. The guild is large enough that everyone has their own apartment basically. My living area is the only one on this side. The old Master liked his space," Sting said as they finally reached his room.

"He seemed scary," Lucy stated honestly.

"He was and a fucking asshole," Sting added in with a smile.

"But you aren't," Lucy replied in a soft voice that made Sting blush again.

Then he let out a nervous chuckle and said, "Well, I'm not a fucking asshole to you because you are special."

He instinctively pulled Lucy close to his body and wrapped his arm around her when she bushed from his statement. He felt his body start to burn with desire for her but shut it away because now was not the time for that and perhaps it never would be, but something was different about Lucy today. She kept looking at him differently and she almost seemed shy—but not scared.

When he opened the door to his room, even he was amazed at the transformation. He was a pretty sloppy person to begin with and there wasn't even a single sock out of place. He smiled when Lucy's eyes widened and he praised Virgo's and Yukino's work in his head.

Sting showed Lucy the living room area that consisted of comfy gray sectional and matching chaise lounge, which he noticed was a new addition, with reading lamps and bookshelves. His modern coffee table now had coasters on them with candles. His large lacrima screen hung over his electric fire lace. He barely recognized his room with how clean it was and all of the additional touches that Yukino and Virgo added to make Lucy feel more at home.

He showed her where the kitchen area was. It wasn't large, but the view was pretty amazing as Sabertooth's Guild looked over the surrounding area and houses below. The kitchen was just attached off of his living room, in its own little area. He couldn't help but be a little proud that Lucy seemed to like everything so well. He knew he'd have to be better at picking up after himself now.

Finally, he gulped a little when he saw that his king bed remained when they walked back into the living room area and Sting slid open the sliding doors that separated the bedroom from the living room. Even though it was still the same size bed that he was used to, there were new sheets and pillowcases of light grays and whites, he couldn't help but be a little nervous that he and Lucy would be sleeping in HIS bed together. He noticed that his bedroom area had new curtains on his windows, fuzzy rugs, and an extra dresser for Lucy.

"It's so relaxing in here," Lucy said with a faint smile.

Sting showed her the master bathroom and his mouth fell open because it looked like a spa now with candles and plants. He saw that they must have brought Lucy toiletries for the bathroom already because there was a pink toothbrush next to his, along with bubble bath for his jaccuzzi tub, because he only ever showered. He knew he would have to thank Virgo and Yukino for everything, because it all looked incredible and Lucy seemed more at ease.

"Where does Lector sleep?" Lucy asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"He has his own room, but he usually crashes with me or with Frosch," Sting replied as he tried to suppress an audible gulp. When he had turned around, Lucy was sitting on the edge of the bed with her smooth legs crossed as her chocolate eyes gazed at him. But then he cleared his throat quickly and asked as he took a seat next to her on the bed, "So do you want to tell me what was bothering you in the hallway?"

Lucy looked down at her hands and began to cry. She didn't know why but she couldn't hold back as tears fell from her eyes and Sting's arms instantly wrapped around her and he pulled her close to her chest.

He gently kissed her head and said, "I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you aren't ready."

"Sting," Lucy whimpered out as she clutched ahold of Sting's shirt.

"I'm here, Lucy. I'm right here," Sting whispered back to her as he gently rocked her back and forth.

As Sting held a panicked Lucy in his arms, he remembered what Porlyusica had said about Lucy needing time to mentally recover. Other than the giant scar on her hand, Lucy looked physically fine. Even in the healing ward she had good days and bad days so Sting never felt bothered on the days where Lucy was having a bad day, because he knew that it was normal with PTSD. He just felt sorry that she had to go through it at all and he had already prepared himself that today might be ruff and overwhelming for her. Eating lunch out in the guild was probably pretty mentally exhausting for Lucy, so even if they stayed in his room for the rest of the day he was ok with that. Definitely one of the perks of being Master of a Guild was that he didn't have to constantly go on jobs to survive.

Finally Lucy tried to wipe away her tears, but then looked up into Sting's blue eyes. His beautiful eyes were filled with such worry that tore at her heat as his thumb brushed away the tears from her cheeks. She held onto him as she admitted, "Sting, what if he finds me? What if hurts you? I can't lose you! I won't survive again if he captures me again."

His eyes widened in surprise at her honesty as she began to sob again and then he found himself kissing away her tears. He felt her breath catch, but she held onto him tighter. His heart ached for her, because of her fear. Then he finally replied, "Even if he finds you, I will protect you. I won't face him alone either, because I'm not going to leave your side. Orga defeated him once and we will do it again. Rufus and from what Rogue has told me, your friend Levy, are researching as to why he is able to come back from the dead. We have four Slayers on our side and he is only one. He won't even be able to lay a pinkie on you. You won't lose me Lucy and I'll never let you go."

Lucy closed her eyes and rested her head on Sting's chest. She still felt scared, but somehow she could sense Sting's honesty. She knew that he meant every word and he would protect her, but she hated the idea of being helpless. She knew that deep down right now she needed to rely on him, especially since she would burst into tears randomly from panic attacks—plus she had no way of fighting Zancrow since he could cancel her magic. But somehow, someday…she would be able to help.

Lucy looked up at Sting who smiled faintly at her before she asked, "Sting…did you mean it when you said I could join Sabertooth?"

His eyes widened a little before a grin appeared on his face as he replied, "Yes, I did."

"Can I join now?" Lucy asked nervously.

Sting grabbed her hand and jumped off the bed as he led her out of their room. She followed him to a room a few doors down and led her into his office. Sting held onto her hand as he walked her over to his desk where he opened up one of the drawers. Lucy looked around the room at his desk while Sting rummaged through his disorganized mess that made her inner-OCD scream in agony. Then her eyes went to a pink sticky note that read:

_Master, I had the honor of throwing away your pornographic material for you._

_-Rufus_

Lucy couldn't help but harrumph a little as she said with a slightly annoyed tone, "It looks like you are just as bad as Master Makarov."

Sting gave her a quizzical look and then was shocked by her annoyed expression. He looked to where her eyes darted to and he wanted to swear so loud at Rufus. Of course he would leave a note like that. Sting felt super guilty for some reason as he turned to Lucy, after he had found the Sabertooth stamper and tried to defend himself, "It wasn't like that. Those were all old!"

Lucy didn't say anything as she continued to look at Sting while he added, "I haven't looked at anything since you've been here though!"

He saw that Lucy flinched a little and he wasn't quite sure at what he had said that made her look so sad. Then she finally spoke up and apologized, "I'm sorry I'm being a burden and keeping you from…things."

"Good god no!" Sting cried out, making Lucy's eyes widen in shock, "It's not like that at all!"

Sting ripped up the note and threw it in the trash as he squeezed Lucy's hand. Then without thinking he blurted out, "Other girls haven't even crossed my mind since you arrived, because you are all I need."

Both of their faces heated up from Sting's honesty and he wanted to kick himself for probably making Lucy feel uncomfortable. However, he noticed that Lucy's heart began to beat erratically again like it had earlier as her face continued to stay red from embarrassment. He couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked while she blushed.

Then he held up the guild marker and asked, "So Lucy, would you like to join Sabertooth?"

Lucy's embarrassment died a little but she nodded her head yes. Sting grinned and asked, "Where and what color."

He watched as her eyes darted to her right hand, where her scar was and where her old guild mark used to be. Then she looked at her left and said, "My left hand and white…like yours."

Sting Smile softly and replied, "That's a good choice." Then he carefully placed her new guild mark on her hand.

Ever since Sting became Guild Master, there would be a huge party celebrating the new members. Rogue had even told him that they had had a party for Gajeel and Lily, which Gajeel of course scowled through most almost the whole time. At least until Yukino got onto him. However, Sting new that Lucy wouldn't want a party. Lunch today had been a huge step in itself.

"So what would you like to do for the rest of the day?" Sting asked as he pulled Lucy into a hug.

He felt her body relax into his before she replied, "Don't you have work to do?"

"Nope! I specifically arranged my schedule so that I would only belong to you today. Work can wait until tomorrow," Sting stated before he kissed Lucy's golden head.

He looked down and saw that Lucy was blushing again from his comment. He felt a little guilty, but he was just a brutally honest person. He knew that Lucy probably didn't want him fawning over her, but he couldn't seem to help but say exactly how much she meant to him.

Finally Lucy broke the silence and said, "I think we should clean out your desk. It's a mess and Rufus didn't do that good a job."

Sting chuckled a little then froze as Lucy held up a pornographic magazine. "Aaaaaah! Where did you get that?!" Sting asked in embarrassment—making Lucy shake her head at him.

Lucy threw the magazine in the trash bin before she muttered in an amused tone, "Pervert."

Sting laughed nervously as he took a seat in his office chair, while Lucy immediately got to work on cleaning his desk before he replied, "Well, I'm your pervert."

He couldn't help but smile in amusement as Lucy blushed from his words before she took a seat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and watched as she happily began to organize his messy desk.


	8. Chapter 8

So in this story I'm trying to portray Lucy with classic PTSD symptoms. PTSD is very hard for people who do not have it to fully understand it. A lot of people associate it with people who have been in the military; however, average citizens can be diagnosed as well. Often times, like in Lucy's case, assault victims will tend to ask the person that they trust a question or a series of questions over and over again. It is a reassurance mechanism as well as a coping tool. PTSD in short is your brain trying to rationalize irrational events; which is very taxing on an individual and it alters your perception of reality. I encourage everyone to Google it and just read the synopsis of it, because I believe more people should be aware of mental trauma that some people have to deal with every day. Just because we don't physically see someone's scars, doesn't mean that they don't have them. Some scars are easier to hide.

This chapter will tend to focus on the aspect that Lucy needs reassurance and the growing intimacy between the two, because Sting's actions are very rare. It would be great if all victims of PTSD had someone as supportive as Sting, but sadly most do not. However, she will experience several other symptoms that I have listed below for everyone. BUT, I added in fluff too. :D

Straight from the  **Mayo Clinic website** ; these are common symptoms for people with PTSD:

 **Behavioral:**  agitation, irritability, hostility, hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior, or social isolation

 **Psychological:**  flashback, fear, severe anxiety, or mistrust

 **Mood:**  loss of interest or pleasure in activities, guilt, or loneliness

 **Sleep:**  insomnia or nightmares

 **Also common:**  emotional detachment or unwanted thoughts

* * *

Lucy smiled as she lowered herself down into Sting's bathtub. Virgo and Yukino had really made her feel safe at Sting's place. She had had a really good afternoon and evening with Sting, and then Lector who brought them a huge pizza for dinner. She loved getting to know both of them more outside of the healing ward. They both made her feel welcome and safe.

She lowered herself further into the water so that the bubbles made a protective barrier around her. Lector had went to go swimming with Frosch again and was going to stay the night with his Exceed friend, so it would just be her and Sting tonight in his room.

Lucy felt nervous though for a lot of reasons. She was still scared that Zancrow would find her and torture her again. She now started to have dreams that he would kill Sting in front of her or that he would rape her and make Sting watch. Even in her dreams she couldn't escape the nightmare of her existence. But every time the nightmares came, Sting was there to pull her out of the darkness and back into the reality of his arms. And that is where the other issue arose...how long would Sting be there for her? What would happen if, or when, they defeated Zancrow? What would they be then? She wasn't entirely sure what they were now. She didn't want to get her hopes when she thought that Sting might actually like her, even after what he said in his office earlier that day.

In the back of her mind though, all she could think was that he was just doing this out of sympathy and she didn't believe he would really want her after seeing her like that. And after how Zancrow had violated her. But she couldn't help but start to feel more for him. He had never once gotten agitated with her, even on her worse days. He never once sounded annoyed that he had to repeat to her that she was safe almost a hundred times a day. He made her laugh and she liked being with him. He was her steady light that shone constantly.

Before Lucy knew it, she began to sob in the tub. She tried to stay quiet so that Sting wouldn't hear, but the harder she tried the louder she got.

Then there was a knock on the door and Sting asked, "Lucy, are you ok?"

No she wasn't, but she would be a selfish asshole if she said that. Sting had already done so much. She didn't need to trouble him further.

"Umm...are you covered up?" Sting asked hesitantly.

Lucy kept crying though, because she couldn't seem to answer. Then Sting said, "Well... you can smack me later if you want, but I'm coming in."

Lucy's eyes widened and thankfully the bubbles were covering everything when Sting barged in to find her crying.

"S-sorry," Lucy murmured to him.

Sting gave her a pained smile and sat down on the floor by the edge of the bathtub before he reached over to wipe the tears away from Lucy's face. "What on Earthland are you sorry for?" he asked gently.

Lucy felt ashamed by her actions. She couldn't even let him have an hour's worth of peace without bothering him.

When she didn't reply again. Sting let out a playful sigh and said, "You aren't bothering me. I can already tell by your facial expression that that's what you were thinking."

Lucy looked at him in shock and then he smiled at her and added, "In fact, I was getting lonely without you and was starting to worry about you anyways."

"R-really?" Lucy asked in disbelief.

"Really," Sting admitted truthfully before he teased, "I figured you wouldn't like me watching you bathe though, so that's why I didn't come in sooner."

When she let out a small laugh and got deeper into the bubbles, it made Sting's grin even wider. Then he flicked a bubble at her face and asked, "Now is there anything else that is on your mind that was worrying you. I hope you know that you can tell me anything."

Lucy thought about it for a minute. The conversation could go one of two ways. If it went poorly, she had no idea what would happen. She looked at Sting and saw that his gorgeous blue eyes were filled with such worry...but there was something else there too. She tried to swallow down her nerves then asked shakily, "W-what's going to happen after you beat him?"

She couldn't look at Sting but could see the shocked look on his face. She immediately wanted to take her choice of words back, but then her heart skipped a beat when Sting asked her, "What do you want to happen?"

When Lucy didn't say anything because she was too scared and overwhelmed, Sting whispered to her, "I want you to be happy and feel safe, but I would miss you if you were suddenly gone from my side."

Lucy's heart felt erratic when she looked at Sting and saw his sincerity. She leaned near him so that their foreheads were touching and she admitted, "I don't want to leave your side."

"Then don't," Sting said in a husky tone that made Lucy's nerves flutter in happiness.

"Do you think I'll always feel like this?" Lucy asked him.

"Like what?" Sting asked for clarification.

"Scared," Lucy admitted.

Sting reached up his hand to touch her head gently and replied, "No, I don't think you'll always be scared—but I don't believe you will go back to being exactly who you were before either. You went through something that would change anyone. You are strong and brave just by getting out of bed every day. You are still you, yet you are different. What happened to you was terrible, but you are not terrible."

Lucy felt tears running down her eyes as she listened to Sting continue, "Even when he is gone. I think you will still have good days and bad days, but that is ok. I will be here for every single one of them no matter what."

"B-but what about when you…" Lucy tried to argue but then trailed off.

"When I what?" Sting asked because he really did want to know what she was thinking.

"Date…" Lucy whispered knowing that her heart could break at any second.

"I told you earlier, you are all I need," Sting reminded her in a gentle and honest tone before he kissed her head.

Lucy felt a faint smile touch her face and a little bit of weight released in her mind.

* * *

After that it was the most interesting bath Lucy had probably ever had. Sting remained in there and they talked about random things; mostly about the different members of Sabertooth and everything that Sting had changed about the guild since he became master. He told her about the Fall Festival that would be coming up soon or how this year the entire guild would be participating in a Secret Santa gift exchange and how after Halloween everyone would find out who they were going to have to buy a present for. Lucy liked hearing about normal things and liked how Sting included her in them and made her feel like she belonged in Sabertooth—besides the fact that they had saved her. She was a member now and she had agreed early that day to help Sting with his paperwork every day, because he was terrible at it and she was quite good at it thanks to her upbringing.

Finally the bubbles were starting to disappear so Sting handed Lucy a towel, but looked away sheepishly. Then Sting said, "I guess I better shower too before we go to bed."

Lucy blushed a little when she thought about Sting's large bed that they would soon be sharing. Then Sting added, "I can leave the door open to the bathroom when I shower if you want or you could even watch me shower…I have a pretty good body."

The comment caught Lucy off guard for a moment as her face heated up then she cracked up and said, "I told you that you were a pervert."

Sting grinned, because he was glad that Lucy genuinely laughed for a moment before he replied, "Hey, I never denied it! I said that I was  _your_  pervert which would give you access to what that entails."

Lucy just shook her head with a smile and flicked the last remaining bubbles that were on her arm at Sting before she stepped out of the bath, with the towel wrapped around her. Sting continued to try and make Lucy laugh, even while she brushed her teeth and she accidently spit toothpaste on the mirror at one of his jokes. She actually felt a little happy tonight. The looming thought of fear was still in the back of her mind, but for a brief moment…everything felt…ok.

When Sting finally jumped into the shower, after Lucy had went into their bedroom to change, she pulled open the dresser where Virgo and Yukino had put her things. Lucy noticed though that a lot of her old clothes were gone and that Virgo had replaced many of her things. Lucy didn't mind and actually understood why Virgo had done it. Today she felt a little safer with her sweater on in front of everyone, instead of being dressed with a lot of skin showing. She supposed it was just because of what she went through. She didn't really like the idea of men looking at her and hitting on her like they used to. She only felt comfortable around Sting.

Lucy found a cute white slip to wear that had spaghetti straps. The top clung tightly to her chest and she didn't know what Sting would think of it, but it felt so soft and was comfortable. She matched it with a lacey pair of white panties with a light blue bow on it.

Then as she waited for Sting to get out of his shower, she looked at the bookshelf and traced her fingers on the edges of some of her favorite stories that Virgo had brought. She wished that she could disappear into an imaginary world for a while as she stared at the books, but somehow she could bring herself to pick one.

She didn't even realize that she had stared at the bookshelf almost the entire time that Sting was in the shower. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder then let out a relieved sigh when she heard Sting ask, "Lucy, are you ok?"

"Yeah, sorry," Lucy replied as she turned around.

Her eyes widened when she saw Sting with his towel wrapped around his waist and droplets of water coated his muscular frame. She knew she shouldn't stare, but she couldn't seem to help herself as her eyes trailed down to his perfect v-line.

Likewise Sting couldn't help but look at how beautiful Lucy looked. Her ivory skin was so smooth as his thumb began to stroke her shoulder. He could hear her heart beat somewhat erratically and then when he looked at her face, he noticed that her eyes were trailing their way down his body. He didn't want to be an ass but he could feel his body getting more turned on when he saw her gently bite her bottom lip. He audibly gulped when he saw her outfit too. Her short/tight white slip that hugged her beautiful curves fascinated him. He wasn't sure whether to thank Virgo and Yukino or curse them in his head, but Lucy looked absolutely breathtaking. He wished that she could see that he meant it when he said that she was the only girl for him and he wanted to cherish and protect her forever. He knew it would take time, yet he looked forward to the day for her when she wouldn't have to ask him because she would now. But until then, he was fine reminding her as much as she needed.

"So what do you feel like doing now?" Sting asked trying to break the heated moment up a little because he didn't want to pressure Lucy.

"U-um…you can pick," Lucy said nervously as she took her eyes off of Sting's body.

Sting grabbed some shorts before he went to change in the bathroom and he called out to her, "Well we could always cuddle and watch a movie in bed together."

Lucy looked over at Sting's bed and blushed but then looked at where the tv was in the living room and asked, "Can we see the tv from your bed?"

"I have a portable lacrima screen that we can use," Sting smiled as he came out of the bathroom.

"Oh, ok," Lucy said shyly as she looked at the beautifully soft bed. They had slept next to each other for weeks in the healing ward, but this felt different to Lucy. It felt…more intimate.

She watched as Sting pulled out the portable screen from his nightstand table then flopped onto his bed. He smiled at her and patted the spot next to him. She gave him a gentle smile back as she climbed into the bed with him and shimmied under his soft and cool covers.

Sting was definitely chastising himself, because god help him he couldn't stop but look at Lucy's beautiful chest when she leaned over in the bed next to him. It was hard not to fall for her. She was sweet and he knew how caring she was and how much she had the capacity to love those around her. Even though she would be different now, because circumstances had been shit for her, he knew that Lucy was still that loving sweet person, even if right now she was scared.

Then when she looked up at him with her big brown eyes and smiled, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his chest while he leaned back with her. He wanted every night of his life to feel like this. Lucy had changed him completely and unintentionally. He was hers forever and he would protect her for the rest of his life.


	9. Chapter 9

**Today's PTSD awareness chapter is about how a victim can experience severe triggers—something that sets them off and they relive the horrible moment again in their mind and it can feel as though it is happening all over again. Also, sometimes triggers can be people, but also smells, places, objects, sounds, etc. Almost anything that a victim associates their trauma with can be a trigger.**

* * *

Lucy opened her eyes and could smell something burning. She shot up in the bed and nearly screamed when she thought it was Zancrow that had come back, but then she heard Lector yell from the kitchen, "Sting-kun! The toast in burning!"

"Ah shit!" Sting yelled and then Lucy heard the sound of a chair fall.

She couldn't help but giggle a little. Last night was the best night of sleep Lucy had in a while. She felt a little guilty that she wasn't as carefree as she used to be, but Sting never made her feel bad. Instead, he always made her feel special and he was so kind and understanding. He really was her light through the darkness in her mind. She honestly didn't know how she would be coping if it wasn't for him. The thought of him not being with her was enough to practically make her hyperventilate from panic.

Lucy got up and decided that she better check out what Sting and Lector were up to. She laughed when she walked into their kitchen and saw Lector throwing away the burnt toast in the trash. Sting was staring in the fridge and letting out a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked them with a smile.

"Morning Lucy-san!" Lector beamed at her, "Sting-kun and I were trying to make breakfast for you as a surprise but we both suck at cooking."

"Plus, I don't really buy groceries..." Sting admitted, "We usually just eat in the guild."

Lucy thought about it for a moment; she really enjoyed cooking and it would be a way that she could be helpful to Sting, but the thought of going to a grocery store or market with all those people terrified her. Zancrow could be hiding there. Her logic told her that he didn't seem like the type to be buying lettuce for a salad, but her brain was filled with fear of the possibility.

"What's on your mind?" Sting whispered to her as his hand stroked soothing circles on her arm.

"I like cooking, but um...leaving," was all Lucy could whisper out.

Sting gave her a smile and came up with a solution to their conundrum. "It would be nice to have a home cooked meal for once, so what if you made the list and I could have someone run into town and get the stuff?"

"Well...I don't want to bother anyone..." Lucy felt extremely guilty at the thought that she was too scared to do something so basic.

"I am the Master of a Guild you know," Sting nudged her with a wink, "I could order them to do it and they'd have to obey."

"Orga-kun wouldn't obey," Lector chimed in, "Not unless you asked nicely. Actually Rogue probably wouldn't listen to you either."

Lucy let out a faint giggle at Lector's observation. Sting thought about it for a second and knew that Lector was right. Then Sting smiled and said, "I'll just ask Yukino if she will, because she loves you and wants to help. Plus then you won't feel guilty and Yukino loves to shop so it's a win-win."

"O-ok," Lucy replied.

Then instead of Sting and Lector making them breakfast, Lector went to pick them up something from the guild's kitchen while Lucy looked to see what Sting had and didn't have in terms of cooking. Sting just watched and thought about how beautiful Lucy looked as she peeked in each of his cabinets. Plus, she was still in that sexy night dress so Sting was definitely enjoying the view.

"Ok, you practically need everything; including pots and pans to cook with," Lucy laughed out in exasperation.

"I have a pan," Sting said in his defense.

"You mean this thing?" Lucy asked in doubt as she held up a frying pan that was chipped and the coating was flaking off, "Sting this isn't safe to use."

"Oh," Sting admitted and watched Lucy throw it away, "Well like Lector admitted, we can't cook."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh when she replied, "Clearly."

Sting did have a pen and a notepad at least, thanks to Virgo putting one in their room for Lucy, so that Lucy could make out the list. However, as she made the list for the kitchen tools she would need, plus the groceries, her brows furrowed together in worry. She had some money in savings, but she knew Sting wouldn't accept it, but she wanted to offer anyways.

"Sting, I'll help pay for this stuff," Lucy told him.

Sting had been leaning back on two legs of his chair with his legs up on the table, but when Lucy said that he nearly fell off. He looked at her with a grin and said, "No you won't Lucy."

"But..." Lucy tried to add.

"Nope! In case you haven't noticed, Lector and I didn't really buy a lot of things. I was a minimalist, so I have plenty of money, which means that you don't have to feel guilty or feel like you are taking advantage of me. Besides, if anyone is getting the short end of the stick here then it's you, because I eat a ton," Sting informed her just as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap.

"Sting," Lucy whispered shyly as she rested her hands on his chest.

Sting cupped her face with his hand so that he could look into those beautiful doe eyes of hers. "Last night I told you that I didn't want you to leave my side," Sting said in a husky tone, "Let Your Light take care of you."

Sting could hear Lucy's heart beat change quickly and watched as she bit her lip. Her lips looked so soft and he had never wanted to kiss someone more, but Lucy probably wasn't ready for that. His thumb started to stroke her cheek gently as their faces instinctively got closer together.

There was no hiding the erection he had with Lucy on his lap, looking so adorable and dressed like an angel. She smiled bashfully at him and watched as her eyes fell towards his lips too.

When she readjusted a little, Sting couldn't help but groan as Lucy rubbed against his painfully growing erection. He could hear her labored breathing and feel her tremble from his touch. He was about to lose his goddamn mind with how much he wanted her.

"Sting," she whispered as her hands ran through his hair.

Their lips were almost touching when Lector came back and yelled, "I got us donuts!"

Lucy pulled away from him a little, but she remained in his lap. He gave her a gentle smile to reassure her that everything would be ok. He needed to do a better job with himself though, because he didn't want to frighten her. He'd probably just need to have a very cold shower every night, but waiting was worth it.

* * *

Gajeel was sitting in the Sabertooth guild hall with Lily in a far corner. Seeing Lucy yesterday in the condition that she was in broke his heart. If Fairy Tail hadn't broken up, then she wouldn't have been out in the middle of nowhere alone for Zancrow to find her. Gajeel sighed loudly when he thought about their old guild...he missed all those lovable idiots.

Gajeel looked up when he heard Lector telling Yukino that Lucy needed supplies, because Sting had nothing. He wasn't fond of the idea of Sting and Lucy, but after seeing her yesterday with Sting...Gajeel knew that it was for the best. If he had thought for one second that Sting would hurt her or cause her more pain, then PTSD or no PTSD, Gajeel would have taken Lucy away immediately. But Sting surprised him with his maturity and his protectiveness and Gajeel knew that Lucy was right where she needed to be.

Lily drew his attention when he said, "Perhaps we should go help Yukino. Levy hasn't sent us any new information and this way we can help Lucy in some way."

Gajeel grunted when he saw the pale haired Celestial Mage head towards the door. He didn't know Yukino that well, but he knew that Lucy trusted her and that was good enough for him. Plus, he had been impressed that Yukino was brave enough to break up his and Sting's encounter. Not many people would get in between two Dragon Slayers arguing. The only person he could think of, besides Yukino, was Erza.

The Iron Dragon slayer listened to his friend though as they made their way to the door to intercept Yukino. The girl looked at them with a smile and said, "Good morning Lily and Gajeel."

"Good morning to you too, Yukino," Lily said politely, "We couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Lector and if it's ok with you, we'd like to go with you and help."

Yukino nodded her head and answered, "That would be really nice because I was going to have to call out Libra for help carrying all this stuff back."

Lily looked at the list and asked, "How was Sting able to eat?"

The three headed out of the guild, Gajeel with a scowl and his hands in his pockets, when Yukino replied, "Well apparently, he and Lector ate out a lot. Virgo and I didn't do much decorating in the kitchen because it was the only spotless place. Now I know it was because he never used it."

Lily chuckled then said more seriously, "Thank you for protecting Lucy and finding her. Everyone's kindness has been appreciated."

Yukino glanced at Gajeel to his reaction at what Lily had said and replied, "It's no problem. Obviously we wish that Lucy had never been hurt in the first place, but Lucy is a dear friend to me and I wish I could have been more help in the actual fight against Zancrow. I hate seeing what that asshole did to her."

Lily nodded in agreement and then Gajeel asked for clarification, "So Sting was the only person to see where Zancrow actually kept her?"

"Yes, after he rescued her...I've never seen him angrier. He's hardly left her side since and I think it's sweet," Yukino said to Gajeel.

Gajeel harrumphed and asked, "Why the hell is that sweet?"

"Sting always puts Lucy's needs above his own. She trusts him completely too. Isn't that what all good relationships boil down to anyways?" Yukino smiled towards Gajeel.

"I guess," Gajeel grumbled.

* * *

When the three got to the store, Lily took the list with the supplies and Yukino and Gajeel took the groceries. Yukino's cheeriness made Gajeel feel cranky today. He didn't join Sabertooth to make friends. He joined so he could kill Zancrow and to protect Lucy.

Yukino started to put some vegetables in bags when Gajeel looked at the list. He grunted and said, "We should pick up some strawberries too."

Yukino looked down at the list and saw that strawberries were not written anywhere. "Do you need some?" Yukino asked.

Gajeel snorted and said, "Not for me. They are Lucy's favorite."

He watched as Yukino gave him a funny look. She went over and grabbed a package of strawberries and put them in the cart that Gajeel was pushing. Then she stopped and stated, "You are in love with Lucy."

"Where the hell did you get that from?!" Gajeel shouted in the store, scaring an old lady that was walking past him.

"I got it from with how you acted two weeks ago when you assaulted our guild, the fact that you joined us, plus most men don't pay attention to the small things that girls like unless they like them," Yukino stated as she crossed her arms.

Gajeel didn't say anything, but continued to push the cart. Then Yukino said, "I won't tell anyone."

"I'd just deny it if you did," Gajeel grumbled, "Besides I saw her with Sting yesterday, she's in good hands and if he can make her happy again someday then it's all worth it."

"Still it can't be easy, seeing the woman you love in another man's arms," Yukino added in an understanding tone.

"I never said I loved her," Gajeel growled.

Yukino couldn't hide her amused smile when she replied, "No, of course you didn't."

The two finished grabbing the groceries and went to meet back up with Lily. Even though Gajeel didn't want to get all buddy buddy with everyone at Sabertooth, he supposed one friend like Yukino wouldn't hurt.

* * *

"How are you so fast at this?" Sting asked in amazement as he watched Lucy sort the paper work and had even separated them into different categories.

Lucy smiled and replied, "I had to learn how to do finances and how to run a business thanks to my Father. He thought that the best bride for a rich husband would know how to be of value besides just producing an heir."

Sting had been laying on the couch in his office, throwing a small ball up into the air and catching it. He stopped when Lucy commented on her father then asked, "Were you supposed to marry someone before Tenroujima?"

"Yes, but I told him I wouldn't do it," Lucy smiled at the painful memory of telling her father that he would be her enemy if he tried to hurt Fairy Tail again.

"So do I need to worry about some man trying to claim you as his bride too?" Sting teased, "Some scorned ex-fiancé?"

"Probably not," Lucy joked back with him, but then her face fell into a frown when she read the poster for one of the new job descriptions. But before she could talk to Sting about it, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Sting said as he set up on the couch.

Lucy watched as Minerva came in. The woman looked at her and Lucy felt sheer panic. It was hard to breathe and she could see the room and not see it at the same time. Flashes of the Grand Magic Games flooded her mind followed by Zancrow and how he had her chained up, how he burned her body, and how he molested her.

The room was spinning and Lucy let out painful sobs. She just wanted the pain to stop.


	10. Chapter 10

**The PTSD theme this week covers what it is like for a victim to have a flashback that turns into a panic attack that was set off from the trigger (aka Minerva).**

**Lucy will also show agitation and irritability because of the guilt she is also feeling towards Sting's willingness to help her no matter what. Plus, I show the other side of it too, because usually caretakers of someone with PTSD will feel like Sting from time to time; helpless from the fact that they can't do more or that their words can't reach the person that they care for.**

* * *

Sting watched in horror as Lucy began to sob and her body started shaking. Minerva looked terrified and confused when Lucy covered her head with her hands and began to break down in front of them.

"Sting, I didn't…" Minerva whispered out in sadness.

Sting just nodded at Minerva but signaled for her to leave and he immediately went over to Lucy and asked, "Lucy, can you hear me? Can I hold you?"

Lucy couldn't hear anything though as she saw Zancrow in her mind. The way his red eyes would glow at her when he would finger her. The way he would burn her hips and slap her face until she bled after he made her cum. Her chest began to heave from the pain in her mind.

"Lucy, I'm right here. You are safe," Sting said, his voice filled with pain.

When Lucy didn't respond, he gently touched her leg and then she screamed as she jumped back and fell down to the ground. She looked terrified as she scooted towards the corner to try and feel protected. She put her head on her knees and began to cry even harder as she rocked back and forth.

Sting was internally panicking because he didn't know what to do; it reminded him of when Gajeel had stormed in when he first got here, but it was different because Lucy couldn't seem to hear him at all. He figured that this was what Porlyusica warned him about—a panic attack or a flashback. However, despite the fact that he wanted to fight away the demons in her mind for her, he remained calm and just moved near her and would wait until she was ready to come back to him.

* * *

Minerva walked down the hall, her eyes filling with tears because of how much terror was in Lucy's eyes when she saw her. She felt horrible for everything she had done and now Lucy was still scared of her.

"Minerva, what's wrong?" Yukino asked her.

Minerva looked up and saw Yukino, Gajeel, and Lily carrying bags of groceries and were standing outside of Sting's quarters. The tears continued down Minerva's face when she admitted, "I went to talk to Sting about a mission, then when Lucy saw me…she panicked."

Yukino gave her and understanding look; however, it was Gajeel that said in a gruff voice, "Don't take it personally. She can barely look at me now too, because I tortured her a long time ago too and probably because I scared the shit out of her when I came to Sabertooth to check on her."

Minerva just nodded in understanding. Gajeel had known Lucy a lot longer than she had and if Lucy was scared of her own guild mate then Minerva understood why she'd be scared of her too. She just wished that she had been a better person in the past and maybe Lucy wouldn't be afraid of her, like how Lucy wasn't afraid of Yukino. In reality, Yukino and Lucy were both stronger than her because they fought with all their hearts—no matter how tough their opponent was.

Then Yukino spoke up and asked her, "Would you like to help us put all of these groceries away? If what Porlyusica said was right, then Lucy will probably be pretty tired once she finally calms down, so we should at least make sure that we can do a lot of these small things for her to make her life a little easier."

Minerva smiled at Yukino and her two new guild mates and replied, "Yes, I'd like to help."

* * *

Sting had remained waiting patiently on the outside; however, he was inwardly freaking the fuck out still. It took close to ten minutes for Lucy's body to stop shaking and even though she was still crying—her sobs were no longer so panicky. Sting felt so helpless and he didn't know what he should do.

Finally Lucy whispered out, "S-Sting."

His eyes widened and he looked up and replied, "I'm right here Lucy. I never left."

"Oh Sting," Lucy cried as she finally looked up and met his eyes and lunged herself into his arms.

"Shhhh, it's ok. You are safe," Sting whispered to her as she latched onto him for safety. At least he didn't feel so helpless anymore as he wrapped his arms around her and added, "I'm here with you."

Lucy tried to stifle her sobs when she whispered, "I-I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to be sorry, it's ok," Sting tried to soothe her by kissing her head gently.

"But I panicked and I thought…I thought he was here again," Lucy admitted as tears continued to fall down her face.

"I know, but you have nothing to be sorry for. After what you went through, it is normal," Sting replied to her gently.

"Nothing about this is normal!" Lucy said slightly agitated, "I remember being normal and this isn't normal! I feel like I'm losing my mind and that you think I'm insane!"

Sting felt his heart break at Lucy's honesty and he hated how much self-doubt she had now. He tried to keep his voice calm when he replied, "Lucy, if you weren't acting this way then that would be abnormal. What happened to you wasn't normal, which is why you feel so confused. Your mind is trying rationalize the irrational things that happened to you. There is nothing wrong with you and you are not losing your mind. I don't think you are insane and I will tell you every day if I need to."

Lucy felt like shit for making Sting feel bad right along with her. For a brief moment it was like she felt his love for her. She nuzzled her face into his neck as he pulled herself closer to him and she whispered, "I don't deserve you."

"Why would you say that?" Sting asked, his voice filled with pain.

"You are too kind to me. You are the Master of a guild and you probably have more important things to do than to be my nurse," Lucy admitted slightly hurt.

Sting took a deep breath in before he asked, "If I had been tortured and you had found me, would you have just left me alone after you saved me?"

Lucy didn't reply at first, but then she grew slightly angry when she asked, "So, you are just doing this out of pity?"

"No!" Sting said, his voice accidently raising, making Lucy flinch slightly. "Sorry," he added when he realized he scared her. He felt frustrated because he didn't know how to express to her that she meant everything to him without scaring her, so he simply said, "No matter how bad it gets, I swear to never leave you because you are the most important person in my life."

"W-why?" Lucy asked as she started to cry again.

"You think I only saved you, but I would have to disagree with that," Sting admitted to her, "I was lost for a long time and now that I'm Guild Master I have so many people depending on me, yet I still felt like something was missing—at least until I found you. You make me a better person whether you realize it or not. Every day that I get to spend with you is even better than the last. I wasn't lying when I said I never wanted you to leave my side."

"Sting," Lucy whispered as she looked up at his serious face.

He gently smiled at her and said, "You are my light in the darkness too."

Lucy gently smiled back and then leaned up and gently kissed his cheek. Sting froze because that was the first time Lucy had kissed him back. He kissed her every day so that she was reminded that he thought she was beautiful and cared for, but now here she was doing it too him as well. He looked down into her beautiful brown eyes and he felt like the luckiest man in the world, because he was the only man that Lucy wanted to be with.

Then before anything else could be said, Lucy let out a slight yawn. He couldn't help but smile and then she quickly said, "I'm sorry for snapping at you though. I shouldn't have."

"I forgive you," Sting replied as he gently kissed her head, "Do you need to go lay down?"

Lucy didn't want to lay down, but her body felt so drained. She had just went through a rollercoaster of emotions and she felt like she could barely keep her head up. However, since she was stubborn, she replied, "N-no, we should finish up the work first."

Sting just huffed in amusement before he stated, "Well I think I need a nap."

Lucy gave him an annoyed look, because she knew what he was trying to do. So she teased back, "That's surprising since you haven't done anything all day."

"Lucy I'm hurt," Sting said in mock pain.

She couldn't help but laugh at him, which made him grin because he loved making her happy. When he helped her up he added, "We can break and get some lunch. Believe me, there will always be more paperwork this afternoon."

Lucy just nodded her head and allowed him this victory, since she knew that he was just trying to look out for her, but then her eyes widened and said, "But wait, do you remember when you asked me about any ex-fiancé's?"

Sting looked very nervous for a second and replied, "Yeah…"

She pointed to one of the jobs on the desk and said, "Well I mean, the arranged marriage that my father wanted me to partake in was with the Jullenel family. The man I was supposed to marry was Edmund Jellenel; however, he was like me and also did not want to go through with the arrangement set out by our fathers, because he was in love with one of the servant's daughters."

Sting got up and looked over Lucy's shoulder at the job description as she continued, "He was very nice and we were actually really good friends, because his mother had passed away when he was younger too, so there were no hard feelings between us; however, our fathers were a different story. Also, I told Edmund about my life in Fairy Tail and the new freedom I had and I guess it inspired him so much that he proposed to Aurora—the servant's daughter. His father was so angry that he disinherited him, but Edmund was no fool. He had his own connections and was quite brilliant so he quickly rose to success entirely on his own, despite his father's attempt at sabotaging everything he did."

Sting snorted and said, "It sounds like rich dads are complete assholes."

Lucy couldn't hide her smile and replied, "Yes, but sadly it gets worse. According to this job description, Edmund and Aurora are expecting their first child and one month from now there will be a ball held in the baby's honor. His father has sent threats that no impure child shall bear the Jullenel family name."

"Impure?" Sting asked with an arch to his brow.

"A child born from high society blood and commoner blood," Lucy answered sadly.

"Asshole was too nice of a word I think," Sting said in disgust, "This guy's dad is a total cock sucking mother fucker."

Lucy nodded her head in agreement before she turned to Sting and said, "The job request is for eight mages to attend the ball as security detail; however, they will be disguised with the other guests."

Sting watched as Lucy fidgeted a bit and then she touched the scar on her hand before she finished, "I want Sabertooth to take the job and I want to help."

Sting blinked in shock for a few minutes and looked down at the job again. He didn't want to push Lucy, because she hadn't left Sabertooth in weeks. However, he didn't want to seem insensitive either or discourage her from wanting to help a friend.

Then Lucy held his hand while she looked down at the ground and said, "I know that it might be scary at first, but it is a month away. I think it will give me something to work towards, besides if there are several of us there then that will help…plus…I'll have you by my side."

He couldn't help but smile at her honesty and her courage. He looked down at the request again and held her close before he asked, "Can we compromise?"

Lucy looked up at him and nodded before he continued, "I understand why you want to go and help and I am proud that you want to work towards it, but if we go…then I get to pick who else will go with us because my first priority is to keep you safe. Also, whatever I say goes while we are on the mission because I'm going to protect you first. The people I chose to go with us can protect the child, but if something goes wrong then you will be my only priority."

She nodded her head in understanding and knew that Sting wouldn't budge on his decision before he added, "Also, if we get closer to time and you say you don't think we can do it then we won't go and I will send two other people in our place."

Even though Lucy wanted to go, she wasn't overly confident in her abilities just yet. She knew that this would be very difficult for her, but nothing like helping a friend motivated her more. However, the fact that Sting was aware that this would be hard and he was willing to work with her to make her feel safe and easy about it helped a lot.

Lucy wrapped her arms around Sting's waist and replied, "I'll trust you." She knew that the chances of Zancrow showing up at a ball for a baby were very slim, but she was still terrified. However, she didn't want to spend her whole life in fear of when he might show up.

He rubbed her back with one of his hands and said, "Thank you. Even if you don't realize it yet, you are the most precious thing in this whole world to me and I won't lose you."

Lucy felt her cheeks get hot by Sting's confession and she hoped that someday she could tell him how much he meant to her too without being scared of rejection. Then she felt Sting give her a hug back before he asked, "You ready to get some lunch then we can let Edmund know that we will take the request later this afternoon?"

She smiled up at him and nodded. He gave her his cheesy grin that always made her heart melt before they went to enjoy lunch together.

* * *

Laxus and his team just got to Blue Pegasus, he didn't like the idea of working with this playboy guild—but as Bickslow pointed out they would probably make a shit load of money by being entertainers here. However, Laxus nearly fried everyone in the place when Ichiya jumped out to greet them in his creepy way.

"Laxus Dreyar and The Raijinshu," Ichiya said with a pose before he sniffed the air, "Your parfume of power is intoxicating."

"Don't sniff me," Laxus stated in annoyance.

However, Ichiya ignored him and had already taken up Evergreen's hand. The Fairy Mage didn't respond well to the disgusting pervert and nearly turned him into stone on the spot. Maybe joining Blue Pegasus wasn't the best idea, but Laxus wasn't sure where else they should go. Master Bob and his Gramps were close, which is another reason why Laxus had thought that this might have been a good idea.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer looked up when they heard the Trimen approach and greet them. Freed was polite to the men and just as Hibiki was about to give them a tour, the attractive male stated, "It's so nice that some Fairy Tail members are joining us; however, I had hoped after what had happened to Lucy that she would have joined us too."

"You are just sad that she didn't call you back after you left her that ridiculous note in her Get Well roses. Plus you know very well why she can't come here," Ren said coolly.

Laxus and his teammates stopped and they all looked at each other, but it was Bickslow that asked, "What do you mean after what happened to Cosplayer?"

"Cosplayer, Cosplayer!" his Babies chanted in unison.

The Trimen and Ichiya all looked at each other in shock, but it was Eve that spoke up and asked, "You guys didn't hear?"

Laxus was growing pretty angry when he asked, "Hear what?"

The Blue Pegasus members looked nervous and sad, but then Master Bob came up and said sadly, "It was just terrible. Apparently Lucy was kidnapped after Fairy Tail got disbanded and was tortured by some horrible man named Zancrow."

Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow all froze, because they had recognized the name from Tenroujima. Laxus's eyes narrowed, because he had heard the tales from them and his Gramps. Then Freed stated, "But he is dead."

Master Bob shook his head no and replied, "He is somehow still alive. Loke went to Sabertooth to get their assistance since Yukino could make a temporary contract with Lucy's spirits and Master Sting saved Lucy. Lucy has been at Sabertooth ever since. The poor thing was unconscious when we visited and apparently she was almost unrecognizable when they first found her."

"Guess this Zancrow is one sick fuck," Ren stated in annoyance, because Sherry secretly liked Lucy a lot and admired her—even if the woman would never admit to it.

Then Eve added, "All of the guilds have been on high alert along with the Magic Council, because apparently Orga Nanagear defeated Zancrow while Master Sting was rescuing Lucy but then…"

"Then what?" Laxus nearly growled out.

"Then he popped back up like some zombie," Hibiki told them.

"Poor Lucy," Evergreen whispered and Laxus could tell that she was about to cry from the news.

Then Master Bob told them, "It is why we have all been on the lookout, apparently Zancrow said that he wasn't finished with Lucy."

"Where was Natsu during all of this? Or Gray or Erza?" Freed asked them.

Ren snorted and replied, "Fairy Tail broke up remember? Lucy was by herself because her team left her; however, it was Natsu that Zancrow originally wanted and he kidnaped Lucy thinking that Natsu would come and rescue her. The mother fucker tortured her for three whole weeks before Sabertooth found her. Wendy has been devastated ever since she found out about what had happened to Lucy. It took her, Chelia, and Porlyusica to heal Lucy and now Lucy is afraid to let anyone touch her besides Sting."

The Fairy Tail mages were not happy at all, by any of this. Laxus was beyond pissed and a little confused that Lucy would only let Sting touch her. Then Laxus heard Bickslow ask, "Ren, earlier you said Hibiki knew why Lucy couldn't join Blue Pegasus—why is that?"

Ren looked at them and informed them, "Zancrow was able to get to Lucy, because he can cancel out non-slayer magic now. Master Sting made it very clear to everyone that Lucy would remain at Sabertooth where there are three Slayers there who can protect her."

"Four now," Master Bob spoke up, "Gajeel also joined recently from the latest correspondence I got from Sabertooth on Lucy's wellbeing."

The Raijinshu all looked at Laxus and Laxus knew without a doubt what they were all thinking. Lucy was nakama and he had to admit that he was a little more than angry that Natsu would just leave Lucy like that, especially after all the nakama bullshit that Natsu spat off all the time. Also, Laxus knew just how much the little blonde meant to his Gramps and if his Gramps ever heard that Laxus and his team didn't help Lucy now then he would come kick all their asses.

Laxus just nodded at his teammates before he looked at Master Bob and said, "I'm sorry, but we can no longer join Blue Pegasus."

Master Bob smiled at them, because he had already figured as much when the Fairy Tail mages turned to leave the Blue Pegasus guild. As they walked out, Freed crossed his arms and asked, "I take it we are going to go join Sabertooth now?"

Laxus nodded and said in a gruff tone, "Damn straight. Blondie seems to have a knack for getting into trouble and five slayers will be better than four."


	11. Chapter 11

**So last week a good question was asked about PTSD that I realize the Mayo Clinic did not address, so here is this week's lesson on PTSD:**

**Your brain changes when you suffer from PTSD and your way of thinking is changed. What is actual reality is altered, because the brain is on constant overload from trauma. So it is difficult for someone with PTSD to register another person's true feelings or intentions, because in their current mental state processing that is too overwhelming for them.**

**That is why I said if someone hasn't had PTSD, then it is very difficult to understand. A sufferer of PTSD unknowingly has good things blocked out of their mind and sadly memory loss can be a big issue. Sting could tell Lucy a hundred times that she is safe and yet Lucy will still be scared. It is no different than if he were to say that he loves her...she would be thrilled in the moment but could easily forget it a few minutes later. That is one reason why being a caretaker of someone with PTSD is so hard and the caretaker usually has to have their own support system as well, because they will start to feel crazy from just repeating themselves so much.**

**It is very sad and no one ever fully recovers from PTSD. The lingering effects are still within that person because of the brain change; however, with the right treatment and really great support from loved ones, the effects become manageable over time.**

**An example of how PTSD lingers is how a lot of WWII vets cannot watch WWII movies with a lot of violence in them, because they were actually there. When they see those images again, several veterans will be "triggered" and panic because it was like they were taken back in time and reliving the horrors all over again—even over half a century later.**

**With that being said…I took it a little easier on Sting and Lucy this week. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

"Lucy, what the hell smells so good?" Sting asked as he walked into the kitchen with his mouth hanging open.

"It's just a beef stew," Lucy said with a giggle when Sting walked up and put his head on her shoulder to look at what she was doing.

"But there is another smell too," Sting said in excitement and was close to drooling.

"Oh well I have some French bread toasting in your oven to go with it," Lucy pointed below the stove.

Sting put his face down right in front of the oven like a kid and Lucy just shook her head at his happiness. He was easily very sexy, any girl with a pulse could see that; however, he had this sweet charm about him too that just made her heart melt.

As she got them some bowls, Sting got out the bottle of wine that had been chilling. Lucy couldn't believe how happy she felt. They finished up Sting's paperwork later that afternoon and Lector came to visit them. Lucy asked Lector if he wanted to join them for dinner; however, Sting's Exceed informed her that Lily was going to train him to become stronger. Apparently Frosch was going to tag along as well, but just for moral support for Lector.

When Lucy turned around, she saw Sting pointing to the chocolate cake that she had made for dessert that was now resting on the clear pedestal dish that Yukino had gotten for her today. "What is that?" Sting asked, completely forgetting to pour them some wine.

"Oh well I made that, because Yukino got me some strawberries and I thought a chocolate cake would go well with them," Lucy said with a smile. She was surprised that Yukino knew that she liked strawberries, she would have to ask her later how.

Then Lucy squeaked out, "HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Sting had just ran his finer along the icing and stuck it in his mouth before he groaned, "Oh my god that is good, but when did you have time to make all this?"

"When you fell asleep this afternoon, I may have come in here and prepped everything and started some of it," Lucy said with a wink.

"I love this new arrangement we have," Sting admitted with a grin, "I can count on my hand the number of times I have had a home cooked meal and all of those times were thanks to Rogue. I guess Minerva can cook, but she would really only cook for Frosch and Lector."

"Well I want to be helpful…" Lucy whispered out as she poured a bowl of stew for Sting.

Sting turned around and saw the sad look in Lucy's eyes, so he went over and cupped her face after she had sat the bowl down on their table. He gently kissed her nose before he said, "Lucy, you are more helpful to me then you will ever know and I'm never going to let you go."

Lucy's face turned bright red and Sting could hear her heartbeat quicken again. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched her bite her lip gently. Every day he spent with her, his desire to show her every way just how much she meant to him grew more and more. He could barely hold back and he was just about to ask her if it was ok if he could kiss her on the lips when they heard a knock on the door.

Sting let out a sigh and Lucy just gave him an understanding look, so he just kissed her on the forehead before he went to answer the door. When he opened it he saw a stunned Rogue standing outside and Sting asked in annoyance, "What do you want Rogue?"

"I came to tell you that we will have visitors in the morning. Laxus and his team want to join Sabertooth as well. What's that smell?" Rogue asked as he tried to peek beyond Sting, because the Shadow Dragon Slayer could smell something absolutely delicious.

Before Sting could reply and tell Rogue to buzz off because he had been so close at kissing Lucy on the lips finally, Lucy came out of the kitchen area and said kindly, "Hello Rogue! Have you eaten yet? If you haven't, you can join us for dinner if you want. I made beef stew and there is plenty."

Rogue looked at Sting who was giving him a  _'Get the hell out of here look.'_  However, nothing amused Rogue more than getting under Sting's skin, so Rogue kindly replied to Lucy, "I would love to join you for dinner and it smells delicious."

Then Rogue butted past Sting, who looked even more agitated, but Lucy had missed everything because she had already gone back into the kitchen to set another place at their table for Rogue. Rogue couldn't help but smile when Sting whispered, "What they hell do you think you are doing?! This is the first meal she has cooked!"

"Come now Sting, you've been hogging Lucy all to yourself," Rogue whispered back with a smug grin.

"That's what you think I've been doing?" Sting whispered back and the two dragon slayers could hear Lucy humming happily in the kitchen.

"I know you have been helping her. We can all see how much you care for her," Rogue said with a slight smile, "But don't you think you are being selfish?"

"How?!" Sting tried not to yell.

"Because you have a beautiful woman who is cooking for you, sleeping in your bed, and doing your paperwork for you," Rogue quietly pointed out, "Seems like she is the one taking care of you—not you taking care of her."

Sting let out a low growl and tried to say, "Rogue I am going to kick your mother fuc-…"

"It's ready!" Lucy said happily as she came back out to get them.

Rogue just grinned at Sting before the Shadow Dragon Slayer turned to Lucy and said, "I can't wait to try it. Also, I'm glad to see you looking so well Lucy."

"Thank you, Rogue. Sting has been taking very good care of me," Lucy smiled back at him.

"It seems to me like you are taking care of him," Rogue joked with her and sent a smug look back to Sting.

Sting just scowled at Rogue, but Lucy was just too sweet when she replied, "I'm just trying to be useful, because I know everything hasn't been easy on Sting."

Sting's face softened at Lucy's honesty and his heart ached for her. She didn't have to do any of this for him, but he felt special that she wanted to help him in her own way too.

Then Rogue told Lucy, "I think you are too nice to him."

"Oi, well you can get the hell out of here then you jerk," Sting said in an annoyed voice as Lucy handed Rogue a bowl of stew.

"That would be rude. Especially after Lucy invited me to try her delicious stew," Rouge smirked at Sting, because he loved that he was knocking Sting down a peg or two.

Sting just continued to scowl at his friend, but then once again his heart melted when Lucy handed him a bowl too and said, "You guys sound like brothers."

Sting snorted and Rogue held out his wine glass towards Sting and asked, "Don't I get some wine too?"

"Freaking mooch," Sting grumbled under his breath so Lucy wouldn't hear him bashing Rogue.

Lucy just smiled happily and sat down next to Sting and watched as the two Dragon Slayers enjoyed her food. She was glad that she wasn't scared of everyone in Sabertooth. She had grown accustomed to Rouge visiting her because he often came with Yukino while she was still in the healing ward. Plus, Rogue didn't seem that threatening because Frosch was his Exceed. How could a guy with a green Exceed wearing a pink frog costume be intimidating? Either way…she was just happy with how normal she felt in that moment with Sting and Rogue.

* * *

Rogue had stayed much later than Sting would have liked. Who knows…maybe he was being a little selfish always being around Lucy. However, he figured that Lucy would set the pace for how much she wanted to interact with other people; like tonight. She invited Rogue and was perfectly fine the entire time. He loved how happy she looked tonight, she really was doing better—even with this afternoon's hiccup. Before she would have been down for the rest of the day, but today she was already ready to keep trying.

After they had cleaned the kitchen together, Sting said happily, "Seriously Lucy that was by far the most delicious meal that I have ever eaten."

"I doubt that," Lucy laughed at him.

"I'm not kidding! I actually hate eating out all the time, but I can't cook at all. So it was eating out or starve," Sting admitted.

Lucy just shook her head then looked at the clock and saw that it was 11. She had no idea that Rogue had stayed so long. She let out a loud yawn and said, "I think I'm going to go take a shower."

Sting stopped himself because he nearly blurted out,  _'Can I join you?'_  Instead he chose to say, "Ok, I'll hop in after you are done."

Lucy gave him a sweet smile before she made her way to their bathroom. Sting let out a groan when he heard the shower water turn on. He hadn't meant for things to turn out this way. He had wanted to help Lucy ever since Loke first came to them, then when he saw her in the place where Zancrow kept her…he wanted to protect her more than anything. Now somewhere along the way…he found himself in love with her. Even in the midst of her pain, she was completely beautiful to him. She was so strong for overcoming so much and he really admired her.

However, no matter how much he was in love with her, he knew he had to take it slow because that fucking bastard had violated her sexually. Sting almost couldn't wait for that sick motherfucker to show his face just so he could end Lucy's pain once and for all.

Despite that though, he could feel his pants getting tighter because the scent of Lucy's body wash was escaping from the bathroom and he could hear her humming in the shower. God how he loved listening to her hum and for fucks sake did he want to be the one rubbing her body wash on her. He knew without a doubt that tonight he was going to have to do something he had not done in a while…masturbate. Otherwise he would find it difficult to sleep next to Lucy without sporting a massive boner.

* * *

When Lucy was finally done showering, Sting was practically pacing in the living room. Then when he turned around and saw her, she had just given him more material to work with. She was wearing a tight white tank top and very short dark blue shorts. He could see her nipping slightly through her shirt and her legs looked so soft and smooth that he just wanted to run his tongue up her thigh. Why was she doing this to him? However, Lucy didn't even seem to notice how sexy she looked. She used to wear a lot more revealing clothes, but ever since she was attacked she tended to wear long sleeves and wore layers. He didn't mind, in fact he thought she looked adorably cute on most days. But clearly night was a different story. Tonight she was the sexy angel that would star in his dreams.

"Is something wrong?" Lucy asked, breaking him out of his perverted thoughts.

"Nope!" Sting said suddenly, "I'll be out in a second."

Lucy couldn't help but frown a little when she heard the shower water turn on. She knew she probably should have picked less revealing pajamas, but Sting made her feel beautiful…but she wasn't sure why he had acted that way. Did he not like how she looked?

Then much to Lucy's surprise, there was a small knock on the door and then Lucy heard, "Sting-kun, Lucy-san! It's me Lector!"

Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the Exceed's voice as she went over to let him in. She smiled when she opened the door for him and he looked so relieved. "Oh Lucy, I'm so tired. Lily is so intense."

The poor Exceed walked in with his tail drooped. Lucy felt bad for him because it was so late so she asked, "Did you get something to eat?"

"Yeah, we all grabbed something to eat after training. I already showered and stuff too, but I missed you and Sting-kun and wanted to stay the night if that's ok," Lector said with a yawn.

"Of course that is ok," Lucy replied with a smile, "We've missed you too. Sting is in the shower right now, but maybe you and I could pick out a movie to watch together."

"That sounds amazing!" Lector cheered as he jumped up onto their bed, "By the way, I saw Rogue-kun and he said that your cooking was amazing. When Lily isn't training me, I can't wait to eat with you and Sting-Kun."

Lucy just smiled at the praise and pulled out Sting's portable lacrima screen and together she and Lector got under the blankets together. She looked towards the bathroom and was wondering at what was taking Sting so long, he was usually a lot faster with his showers.

Then she watched as Lector scrolled on the screen with his paw to see which movie they should watch before he said, "How about that one!"

" _The Karate Kid_?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I think it will motivate me to try extra hard tomorrow with my training. I have to get stronger so that I can help Sting-kun protect you," Lector admitted as he leaned back against Lucy.

Lucy blinked in surprise and her heart melted at Lector's bravery. She gave him a quick hug, to which he started laughing, and she said, "Thank you, Lector."

"Anything for you Lucy-san," Lector smiled as he clicked on the movie, "I can tell how much Sting-kun loves you and I love how you will be with us forever now."

"L-love," Lucy whispered out.

"Hai, Sting's never ever slept next to a girl and I can tell by the way he looks at you that you are important to him," Lector admitted sleepily.

Lucy didn't know if Lector meant want he was saying because he was clearly very tired. The Exceed's eyes were already starting to droop and the movie had barely gotten started yet. Then Lucy heard the shower turn off and she could feel her heart start to pound erratically. She couldn't stop thinking about love. Did Sting actually love her? In that sort of way? How did she feel about him?

Then when Sting walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of athletic shorts that were low on his hips, Lucy felt her mouth go dry. Her eyes met his and his facial expression immediately softened as he took in her and Lector on the bed waiting for him.

"Hey Sting-kun," Lector yawned.

Sting grinned and said, "Hey Lector, how was training?"

"So hard," Lector replied sleepily.

Lucy felt like she couldn't breathe when Sting crawled under the blankets with them. She felt like her mind was suddenly registering every little detail that she had missed about him before and how when he brushed up against her, it felt like pure adrenaline coursed through her veins. Her heart felt like it was going to stop when she looked over at him and their eyes met again. He lifted his arm up and scooted closer so that he could pull her and Lector into his embrace.

"Night Sting-kun. Night Lucy-san," Lector mumbled as the portable lacrima screen sunk down into the blankets and the Exceed began to snore softly.

However, Lucy and Sting had never taken their eyes off of each other when they both whispered back, "Goodnight Lector."

Lucy knew that Sting would be able to sense her nerves and probably hear her heartbeat because of his Dragon Senses, but she couldn't seem to shake this feeling. Her stomach felt like it was full of butterflies and she couldn't help it when her eyes darted to his lips. Those wonderful lips that always kissed her head, but she realized that she didn't want them to just touch her head…she wanted them to touch her lips.

"S-Sting," Lucy whispered out so that she wouldn't wake Lector.

"Hm?" Sting hummed as their faces were centimeters apart.

She was scared. She was scared of rejection, but she had hoped what Lector said was true. She realized that she didn't just want Sting to take care of her and that be it. She wanted him. She would obviously want to go slow, but she wanted to be more to him than just a friend. However, she was so terrified of rejection that she felt like she lost her voice.

Then Sting's hand cupped her cheek and he whispered back, "What is it Lucy? You can tell me anything or ask me anything. I will always be honest with you."

Lucy could feel her heart pounding harder and harder as she tried to take deep calming breaths, but they weren't working. Her eyes quickly looked up into Sting's brilliant blue eyes before she whispered back, "How do you feel about me?"

She noticed that he didn't even look surprised by the question. Instead he got a faint smile on his face before he asked, "Can I show you?"

She didn't know what that meant, but she knew that the person she trusted the most in the entire world was now Sting Eucliffe. She felt her body start to tremble, but she nodded her head in agreement. Then the butterflies nearly burst from her body when Sting gently pressed his lips to hers.

Her eyes closed from the tender touch of his lips. A calming warmth spread throughout her being as she returned the kiss. Their lives were complicated and abnormal, but thanks to Sting—Lucy felt like she was healing. He made her feel safe and wanted. He was protecting her so that she could find herself again. She remembered what he had said the other day—that she wouldn't be the same person that she used to be and Lucy knew that he was right; however, his kiss gave her hope that someday she would become even stronger and she would be better than she had ever been before. She knew without a doubt that she was in love with Sting.

* * *

Zancrow's screams echoed off of the dark walls that surrounded him. His Master had blessed him with another round of treatments and he was thankful every single day for the pain that he felt in his mind and in his body.

He had no idea how long the alterations had already taken, but he knew that his Master was not yet close to being done. A lesser man would have died from the pain, but not him. He would gladly accept whatever pain and punishment his Master inflicted on him because he knew that someday, the horror that would appear in Lucy's brown eyes would be worth the wait.

He began to cackle to himself as he thought about all the different things he was going to do to her once he was free again. She will have wished that she killed herself in his absence, because this time…this time he wouldn't go easy on her.

However, Zancrow let out another howl of pain as the symbol he did not know flashed in his mind. That blonde man that carried Lucy away. He had a strange guild mark on his shoulder and Zancrow didn't know what it meant, but that was going to be the first thing he would find out once he was free again.


	12. Chapter 12

**This week's lesson on PTSD is more from an observer's standpoint than Lucy's. Many people don't know how to react to someone who has just experienced a lot of trauma and is recovering. While people like Sting and Yukino in Lucy's life are essential at creating a nurturing and healing environment, sometimes it is helpful too to have people like Rogue and Laxus who recognize that something terrible has happened. However, they won't necessarily treat her differently but are more aware than others at what might set her off. They give her space and time to process things and don't bombard her and force her to act like nothing is wrong and that she will just be "fine".**

**Almost nothing pisses off someone who is struggling with PTSD more than hearing over and over again by people who are incapable of showing any empathy is the phrase, "You will be fine" or "Just get over it, you aren't in danger anymore." If anyone did research on PTSD, like I explained in the last chapter, it stays with you…FOREVER. Yes someday a person will eventually learn to cope with their new environment and they won't be on high alert for danger every day. However, that doesn't give people a right to say they will be "fine" when they have no idea how much a person with PTSD has to overcome every day.**

* * *

Sting pulled away from the kiss that he had been wanting to give Lucy for weeks as he whispered to her, "I love you more than anything Lucy. You make me feel wanted and needed. I'll do anything to protect you. You make me smile, laugh, and feel safe too. You are warm and kind and I'll tell you every day how important you are to me, because I never want to lose you."

Lucy felt tears run down her face that Sting gently brushed aside. Her heart felt like it was about to burst from happiness. Then she whispered back, "I love you too, Sting...but I'm scared."

"It's ok," Sting replied in a gentle tone before he tenderly kissed her lips once more, "We can go as slow as you want. We have our whole lives so there's no rush."

"Do you really mean that?" Lucy asked in shock.

Sting gave her a soft grin before he rested his forehead against hers and answered, "I really do. My life is better with you in it."

Lucy couldn't help it when she started to cry out of happiness and Sting pulled her close to him, along with Lector. She felt so safe and loved in his arms and she felt a sense of relief wash over her that he'd always be there for her.

Then before she drifted off to sleep, she heard Sting whisper to her, "I love you, Lucy."

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Lucy woke up with a smile on her face. She tried to stifle a giggle when she opened her eyes and found Lector on top of Sting's head and they were both slightly snoring. They were both so cute.

Unlike yesterday's unhealthy breakfast, Lucy decided that she would make them something to surprise them. She carefully lifted up Sting's arm so that she could sneak off to the kitchen. Then just smiled when Sting mumbled her name and readjusted. He was really amazing.

As Lucy prepared eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit, she happily hummed to herself. She could feel that today was going to be a good day. Then she nearly dropped the carton of eggs she was holding when Sting let out a low whistle and said in a husky tone, "Now this is a sight that will never get old."

Lucy felt flustered when she asked, "W-what do you mean?"

She turned around to Sting walking towards her. He looked like a god when the sun shone off of his muscular abs. She felt her breath catch in her throat when he wrapped his arm around her waist and replied in a lower tone, "The sight of my beautiful girl cooking for me."

Lucy felt her face hear up when Sting took his other hand and cupped her face before he tenderly pressed his lips to hers. The surge of emotions Lucy felt nearly overloaded her brain when Sting pulled her close against his body. His mouth felt amazing and she longed for more as her hands met his bare and muscular chest. She shivered against him when he began to trail his kisses down her jawline and onto her neck and bare shoulder before he said, "Because that is what you are now Lucy, you are my girl."

"Sting," Lucy let out with a breathy moan that made Sting capture Lucy's lips once more.

"Hm?" Sting hummed against her neck once more.

"T-the f-food will burn," Lucy breathily said.

She felt Sting smile against her neck when he replied, "Well we don't want that."

Lucy's face was the color of Erza's hair and Sting looked rather pleased with himself when Lucy went back to the stove to put the eggs and bacon on a plate. He was just about to make a playful comment towards her when Lector came into the kitchen and sleepily said, "Morning Sting-kun! Morning Lucy-san!"

"Hey Lector," Sting replied as the little Exceed took a seat at the table.

"So the other Fairies should be here soon. Are we going to go see them after we eat?" Lector asked as Lucy sat the plates down in front of Sting and Lector.

Lucy and Sting looked at each other than Sting's eyes widened when he asked, "Wait, Rogue said something about…"

"Yeah, Laxus-kun and his team want to join to help protect Lucy-san," Lector chirped as he munched on the fruit Lucy had given him.

"Laxus," Lucy whispered out in shock.

"You ok with that?" Sting asked Lucy as he drank down his orange juice.

"I just don't know why he would," Lucy replied honestly as she took a seat next to Sting.

"Because you are sweet and kind," Sting stated as he gently grabbed her hand, "If one of your old guild mates was in danger, would you just sit by while someone wanted to hurt them?"

Lucy gave Sting a faint smile and answered, "No."

"Exactly. Besides, you Fairies are the most stubborn people I have ever met. You won't let anyone touch your nakama," Sting laughed.

"Well I'm not a Fairy anymore," Lucy whispered out as she looked at the huge scar on her right hand where Zancrow had burned away her guild mark.

"You are and will always be a Fairy at heart. Even though you are a Saber now, Fairy Tail will always have a special place in your heart," Sting stated wisely.

Lucy just smiled kindly at Sting for his support as the three ate their breakfast together. She was incredibly thankful for him every day and she wished that she could show him more about how much he meant to her, but she supposed that it would just take time.

Lucy's thoughts were pulled towards Lector when he beamed at her, "Rogue-kun was right! You are an amazing cook. I hope Lily doesn't keep me late tonight so that I can come eat dinner with you guys."

"How was training last night?" Sting asked Lector as he grabbed some more bacon.

"Lily is a strict master," Lector sweatdropped, "But he was a little softer on me once Minerva came in to watch. I think Lily likes Minerva ever since I told him Minerva can cook. I guess he thinks she would be a good wife or something."

Sting choked on his orange juice and Lucy smiled faintly. She felt bad yesterday that she had gotten scared because of Minerva, especially when she found out that Minerva was going to be the one who was going to rescue her instead of Sting if it wouldn't have been for Zancrow's cancellation magic. Lucy knew that she would have to find out a way to thank the woman back and apologize to her. Maybe if Lucy knew that Minerva was coming then she wouldn't have a panic attack again. She didn't want Sting to feel divided from his loyalties to her and his guild.

Lucy started to poke at her food with her fork while Lector and Sting talked then when Lector left the kitchen, Lucy looked at Sting and asked, "Hey Sting…do you think that maybe later today we could try and talk to Minerva. I feel bad for panicking on her yesterday."

Sting smiled at her softly before he rubbed her hand again and said, "I think that would be fine, but if you don't feel ready to then I'm sure she will understand."

Lucy just nodded and added, "Well maybe if she came with Yukino and Rogue too then I wouldn't be as scared."

Sting thought about it for a moment before he asked, "Would you feel comfortable if we had a small party tonight? That way you can get to know everyone a little better and see them in a more relaxed setting. The parties aren't nearly as wild as the Fairy Tail ones."

Lucy thought about it for a moment and if Sting was by her side and Laxus and Gajeel would be there too along with Yukino and Rogue, then she wanted to give it a try. "Sure, let's try it," Lucy smiled at him.

Sting gave her a large grin and said, "I'll have Rogue tell everyone. I won't leave your side though and if you get scared we can leave. No one will judge you or make you feel uncomfortable."

"Thanks Sting," Lucy whispered before she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Anything for my girl," Sting replied as he helped Lucy clean up the kitchen.

* * *

Laxus rolled his eyes when he looked at Sting's throne. Sure years ago he tried to take over Fairy Tail, but even he had never thought about putting in a goddamn throne. Laxus still couldn't believe that he and his team were going to join Sabertooth of all people.

Then Freed spoke up and said, "Sabertooth has some interesting décor."

"I like it," Evergreen smiled, "I think I'd look good on a throne."

"Well I saw the restrooms down the hallway," Bickslow teased.

"Why you!" Evergreen started to yell just as Gajeel, Lily, and Yukino came in.

"Laxus-san and the Raijinshu, welcome to Sabertooth!" Yukino greeted them warmly.

Laxus just nodded then saw Orga, Rogue, and Frosch follow their guild mates in. "So how is she doing?" Laxus asked all of them.

It was Yukino that spoke up and said, "Well yesterday afternoon was a bit rough on Lucy, but last night was better—according to Rogue."

"She does well for the most part as long as she is not caught off guard. When she saw Minerva yesterday, that was the set back," Rogue added in, "However, as long as Sting is with her then he can usually calm her down."

Laxus arched his brow and looked at Gajeel and said, "Explain that to me."

"Explain what?" Gajeel asked in annoyance.

"Why she will only let Sting around her. They barely know each other," Laxus grunted.

"Because he was the one who found her and saved her," Yukino intervened, "He's hardly left her side."

"Don't try and separate them," Rogue stated harshly.

"I wasn't going to," Laxus replied, "I was just curious."

There was a moment of silence between the mages before Gajeel told his old guild mates, "She's not the same Bunny Girl. She different, so don't treat her the same."

Laxus and his team all looked concerned then their eyes widened when Lector came out, followed by Sting and Lucy holding hands. None of the Sabertooth Mages thought that Sting and Lucy's interaction was odd, but Laxus would never forget the mental image. Lucy didn't seem all that different to him—she still looked the same. Well there were minor differences, like the pale blue dress she wore with a long sleeved cardigan. It wasn't her usual daring attire that Laxus enjoyed seeing. But then he noticed the giant scar on her right hand where her guild mark used to be and it took everything in him not to let out a feral growl. How could Natsu have let this happen to Lucy? Then he watched as Sting kissed Lucy's head reassuringly.

Lucy looked over towards her old guild mates and said quietly, "Hey everyone."

Freed and Evergreen both greeted Lucy warmly and Bickslow and his Babies greeted their Cosplayer. Laxus just nodded his head before Sting said, "I trust that Rogue told you the rules?"

"Rules?" Laxus asked.

Lucy and Sting looked at each other for a brief moment and Sting gave Lucy's hand a gentle squeeze before he said, "I don't care if you join or take jobs or whatever. However, when it comes to dealing with that Asshole my word is law, because my top priority will be Lucy's safety. He can cancel out non-slayer magic so only slayers stand a chance. We not only have to protect Lucy, but the other members of this guild if he finds out where she is."

Laxus didn't like taking orders from anyone—not even his Gramps. However, Laxus could smell the fear off of Lucy and finally understood what everyone had been saying. Zancrow must have really fucked her up. She wasn't the same. She didn't make eye contact with anyone besides Sting, Yukino, Rogue, and the Exceeds. Laxus also noticed at how hard Lucy was clutching onto Sting's arm. Guess the little punk ass master really did care for Lucy.

Freed looked at him since Sting was waiting for an answer, so Laxus replied, "Sure."

Sting nodded then said, "Rogue can give you your new guild insignias and show you where everything is. Welcome to Sabertooth and tonight we will have a small party in all of the Fairy Tail member's honor for coming ot help Lucy."

Gajeel watched as Rogue gave Laxus and his team their new guild marks and Sting and Lucy went back to Sting's office. Lily went to train Lector some more while Frosch watched and all Gajeel could think was how weird everything was and how it all sucked because of Natsu.

Then his thoughts were interrupted when Yukino's smiling face got into his line of sight and she asked, "Gaj, do you want to go on a mission?"

"I thought us slayers weren't allowed to go anywhere?" Gajeel snorted out.

"Now that Laxus is here too, everyone can take turns going out on missions," Yukino smiled at him.

"Why can't you ask someone from your own guild to go with you?" Gajeel grumbled.

Then Yukino poked the guild insignia on his shoulder that was now a mark of Sabertooth and replied, "I am asking someone from my guild."

Gajeel just glared at her before he said, "Fine, but this doesn't make us friends."

Yukino just laughed at him and replied, "No, of course it doesn't."


	13. Chapter 13

**PTSD Awareness Lesson:**

So in this chapter, Lucy will take a huge step in her recovery. She tries to take control of her own fear and tries to push out of her comfort zone a little. Now, the reason why she is able to do this is because Sting and the other members of Sabertooth have created a safe space for her. Sabertooth has been nurturing and she feels protected; however, she would still struggle in those circumstances after what she has been through.

Sadly, with PTSD when it seems like you can take a step forward—eventually you might take two steps back. However, today is not the day for falling back (that's later…I'm sorry/not sorry).

So remember, if you are ever helping someone with PTSD, try to do things at their pace. Do not push them to be ready for anything because you could make it worse. You have to let them decide when they are ready and when they are not ready to do something. They don't see the world the same way you do, all they see is danger.

* * *

"So how do you want to try this?" Sting asked Lucy.

Lucy, Sting, and Rogue were all in Sting's living room because Lucy wanted to try and apologize to Minerva before the party tonight. It was getting closer to time when they would go and Lucy wanted to try her best at not to panic, because she really wanted Sting to be able to spend time with his friends.

"I think it would be easier if I walked into a room where she was sitting," Lucy whispered nervously.

Sting looked at Lucy with concern, because he could tell that she was trying so hard for him. He sat down next to her on the couch and replied warmly, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. Minerva will understand."

Lucy's sad brown eyes looked at him and added, "I know, but I want to. Everyone here has been so kind and she was the person who was going to save me. I just don't want to be scared anymore."

Sting pulled Lucy into his embrace and nodded towards Rogue to go get Minerva and have her wait in his office. After the Shadow Dragon Slayer left, Sting whispered to Lucy, "I think you're really brave for doing this."

She held on to him when she said, "Thanks, I don't feel brave though."

"But you are," Sting added after he kissed her forehead, "This is a huge step."

Lucy just let out a deep breath before she asked, "How can you be so understanding all the time?"

Sting couldn't help but laugh at the question, which made Lucy giggle and nuzzle into his chest more. The young master admitted, "Well I'm understanding because it's you and I love you. No one else gets or deserves my patience."

Lucy smiled and whispered, "I love you too, My Light."

Sting got a smug grin on his face, because he loved hearing that. Lucy was his girl and he had vowed to himself that he'd always be by her side, no matter how hard things got.

* * *

Rogue returned shortly and stated, "She's ready and she also said that it's really ok if Lucy isn't ready."

Sting looked towards Lucy who looked frazzled, but she just nodded her said and replied, "I need to try."

Both Dragon Slayers smiled and Sting held Lucy's hand while she clutched onto his arm. He could feel her body trembling and smell her fear just as Rogue glanced at him with a worried expression.

When they got outside the office door, Lucy knew that both men could sense her panic. Her legs were shaking so bad that she could barely stand. However, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this. She didn't want to be afraid anymore. Sting was right beside her. She was fine.

Sting and Rogue waited on Lucy patiently before she gathered herself and asked, "C-could I walk in behind you Rogue?"

Rogue smiled faintly because Lucy probably just wanted to feel safe on all sides because Sting wasn't going to leave her other side. He nodded and replied, "Of course, are you ready?"

Lucy nodded her head as she clutched harder onto Sting. Rogue slowly opened the door and Sting felt like everyone was holding their breath. Lucy kept her eyes on the ground but she could see that Minerva was sitting on Sting's couch. She quickly glanced at the woman and saw that she was wearing a soft purple dress and her hair was done up into two buns on top of her head with ribbons. The look almost reminded her of Wendy and Wendy wasn't scary.

Lucy saw Minerva's worried face and then something in Lucy clicked. Her face was different than the one from the Grand Magic Games. Lucy thought back to when Gajeel joined Fairy Tail and he sang in that ridiculous white suit. Then she thought about how Laxus had saved her and her old team on Tenroujima. She also remembered how Sherry actually tried to kill her on Galuna Island, but now the woman loved seeing her. Minerva was no different than them.

Lucy got a smile on her face and said, "Hi Minerva, thank you for being patient and thank you for trying to save me. I'm sorry I panicked on you before."

Everyone stood stunned at how Lucy gathered herself up so quickly. Sting could still sense that Lucy was a bit skittish, but it wasn't choking him like it was in the hall.

Minerva smiled back and said, "It's the least I could do after how I treated you. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Lucy held up her hand because she didn't want her seal to break and she knew if she thought about what happened at the games then it would. So Lucy just said, "It's the past."

After a moment of silence Minerva asked to try and lighten the mood, "Is it true that Sting didn't have any proper cooking tools in his kitchen?"

Lucy started to laugh before she replied, "The only thing he had was a rusty old flakey pan."

"And to think, this man is our leader," Rogue chimed in.

Minerva and Lucy both laughed and Sting looked shock. He didn't know how it switched to everyone laughing at him, but as long as Lucy was laughing then he was fine with it.

Then Minerva said, "Sting, I think we should redraw for Secret Santa gifts with all of our new members."

"That's actually a good idea! Let's do it tonight!" Sting said excitedly because he really didn't want to have to buy Rufus a present.

"I'll go ask Rufus to arrange it so people can draw at the party tonight," Rogue said as Minerva carefully stood up to leave with him so that they could give Lucy and Sting some space.

Once the other two Sabertooth members left, Lucy hugged Sting and whispered, "Thank you."

"I didn't do much," Sting laughed.

"You were here and that was enough," Lucy replied as her body finally started to relax.

"I'll always be here for you. I'm your pervert remember? You're stuck with me," Sting teased.

Lucy let out a content sigh before they went back to Sting's quarters to get ready for the party. She felt really proud of herself and felt like she was finally starting to take little bits of control back in her life. It gave her hope.

* * *

Sting grinned when Lucy came out of the bathroom with her pale blue swimsuit cover. He wished so bad for a second that he could tear it off of her, but he knew that he needed to be patient. Even if/when Lucy wanted to move on and be more intimate, he knew he'd have to go slow and be gentle. Lucy had never talked about in detail what Zancrow did to her, but he knew it was probably a dam that would break eventually and he'd be prepared for it.

Lucy looked at him shyly before he stated, "You look beautiful. You ready to go draw names for Secret Santa?"

"Sure," Lucy smiled warmly before she took Sting's hand. But then she stopped and said, "Sting, would you be mad if I didn't swim tonight?"

Sting stopped for a moment and looked at Lucy before he replied, "Why would you think I'd be mad?"

"I dunno," Lucy whispered.

Sting thought for a moment before he spoke, then he realized why Lucy might be uncomfortable so he asked, "Is it because you'd have to show skin?"

Lucy nodded in shame before Sting held her chin up so he could look her in the eyes before he tried to cheer her up, "That would never make me angry or upset. If anything I'm relieved."

"Relieved? Why?" Lucy asked confused.

"Because you're breathtakingly gorgeous and you're for my perverted eyes only," Sting winked at her.

Lucy pursed her lips together tightly before she laughed, "You're really proud of being a pervert aren't you?"

"Not just any pervert," Sting corrected her, "You're pervert. Besides if you don't want to swim with everyone else, you and I can wait until everyone is gone. I am the Guild Master so the pool is more or less mine."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at Sting. He was so optimistically sweet, but still kind of cocky. Yet he was never anything but kind and caring to her. She felt lucky to have him and thought about how if it wasn't for him then she wouldn't even be alive.

* * *

Lucy was impressed by the party. Apparently Sting hadn't been joking, Sabertooth wasn't nearly as wild as Fairy Tail. Sure there were still people splashing around and laughing; however, the only word that came to Lucy's mind was "adult." Everyone was drinking and visiting and relaxing. It was rather nice.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Sting asked.

"Sure, maybe a little," Lucy replied. She knew it wouldn't be wise to get drunk because of her current mental state but she could sip on something.

She couldn't help but smile as people greeted Sting and her. She liked that no one even thought it was odd that she and Sting were close or together. Instead a few of them suggested it was about damn time that Sting found someone.

When they took a seat at the bar, Sting ordered her a fuzzy navel because that was her favorite and he got a beer. She felt happy and oddly relaxed and was glad that Sting was getting out and talking to his guild mates. She didn't feel alone or out of place because Sting kept her protectively close and introduced her to everyone that she didn't know.

The Lector came around with a large bowl and said, "Sting-kun! Lucy-san! You can draw for names now!"

Lucy laughed at Sting's excitement before he dove his hand into the bowl and twirled the papers around, just before Lucy drew a name out too. Her eyes widened when she saw the name and then Sting asked her excitedly, "Who'd you get?"

Lucy showed him the paper since there were Slayers everywhere. Lucy couldn't tell what the look on Sting's face meant but then she asked him, "Who'd you get?"

Sting sighed and showed her his paper and she couldn't help but laugh before she said, "That's so cute."

Sting chuckled and said, "Frosch will be a lot easier to buy for than Rufus; however, I feel bad for the person that Frosch drew a name for. God knows what kind of creepy shit they'll get."

Lucy looked down at her paper again and saw Gajeel's name. She knew that she wanted to try and talk to him again too. After all he came here originally to take her with him and Levy. It was a nice thought, but Lucy was still thankful that he cared enough to try and help. She found it a little upsetting though that two Dragon Slayers that she wasn't super close to in Fairy Tail both joined Sabertooth just to protect her and then the one that she was best friends with was god knows where.

Then Lucy looked up and saw Yukino and Gajeel walk in. Yukino had a big smile on her face and was wearing an adorable baby-blue two piece swimsuit; however, Gajeel just had a scowl on his face until his eyes met hers. He almost looked taken aback by her being there but then she gave him a soft smile and waved. His face softened and he nodded back before Yukino dragged him over to one of the games that was set up.

Lucy couldn't help but smile because Gajeel looked uncomfortable as hell, but Yukino didn't seem fazed by Gajeel's intimidating aura. She actually thought they looked adorable together—well if anyone thought Gajeel could look adorable.

Sting saw where Lucy's eyes went so he said, "According to Rogue, Yukino and Gajeel have been spending time together and even went on a mission together this afternoon."

"Really?" Lucy asked in a happy voice.

Sting looked at her funny for a second and then laughed before he asked, "Yeah, why do you sound so excited about it?"

Lucy almost felt like Mira for a second before she replied, "Because look at how cute they are. He's so grumpy and she's so sweet. It's like Beauty and the Beast."

With that comment, Lucy made Sting choke on his beer and he couldn't stop laughing. Lucy giggled too before she saw Laxus and his team sitting on some of the lounge chairs on the other side of the pool. Minerva and Evergreen were talking and Lucy could actually picture the two women being close friends.

Sting had just finished saying something to Rogue when Lucy said to him, "I think I want to go thank my old guild mates for coming."

Sting looked at her in surprise at first before he said, "Sure! Do you want me to go with you?"

"That's ok," Lucy smiled at him, "You are close enough that I think I'll be ok."

Sting kissed her on the cheek first before she slowly walked over to where Laxus and the others were sitting. It was Bickslow and his Babies that noticed her first and the little totems flew up and twirled around her before they chanted, "Lucy! Lucy!"

She blinked in surprise that they didn't call her Cosplayer at first, but then Bickslow said with a grin, "Hey Cosplayer!"

Laxus popped one eye open to look at her as she took a seat next to him on the lounger before she replied, "Hey Bickslow. Hey Babies."

Evergreen, Minerva, and Freed greeted her as well before Laxus said, "You're looking well."

"Thanks," Lucy whispered before she said in a timid voice, "I just wanted to thank you guys for coming again. It really means a lot."

"You'd be there in a heartbeat if it were one of us," Bickslow grinned.

Freed and Ever nodded in unison before Laxus stated in a gruff voice, "No need for thanks. It's our fault anyways."

Everyone got quiet and Lucy could feel Sting's eyes on her before Laxus continued in a gentler tone, "If Fairy Tail hadn't been disbanded then you would have lost you home."

Lucy really didn't want to cry when the tears started to well up in her eyes but then Laxus changed the subject by saying, "Besides joining Sabertooth is better than Blue Pegasus anyways."

Lucy blinked in surprise before she let out a chuckle and asked, "You guys were going to join Blue Pegasus?"

"Yeah, Laxus wanted to train under Ichiya," Bickslow barked out a laugh.

Lucy flinched a little when Laxus shocked Bickslow, but then Freed answered, "We were looking for work and Master Bob and Master Makarov were close."

"The jobs are better here though," Evergeen smiled, "Plus you, Gajeel, and Lily were here too."

Then Bickslow changed the subject and joked, "What's this about Hibiki asking you on a date though, Cosplayer?"

Lucy looked confused for a minute before she remembered the note Hibiki had left her with her flowers. Then Lucy looked over and met Sting's eyes. He looked worried and she smiled at him faintly, before she replied, "He left me a note asking me, but I threw it in the trash because I'm not interested in him."

She couldn't help it when her smile widened because Sting grinned smugly. Then Laxus barked out a laugh and said, "That's harsh Blondie, but hilarious. The little prick doesn't deserve your time anyways."

"Besides, it looks like you found someone better," Evergreen winked and Minerva nodded her head in agreement.

Lucy felt a deep blush covered her face and looked over at Sting who had a smoldering gaze that made her gulp. He looked so delicious. Then her eyes widened when she realized at what she had just thought. She knew that someday she'd want to be even closer with Sting.

* * *

Lucy was happy that she was somewhat able to hold a normal conversation with her guild mates. She looked over and saw that Yukino and Gajeel were still playing a game, so she'd get them later. Then Lucy said she would talk to everyone else later before she went back over to Sting.

The moment she was close enough to touch him, a wave of relief washed over them both. Sting pulled her against him before he gently kissed her and asked, "How'd it go?"

"Good, I think. I still felt scared, but it was ok," Lucy smiled.

Sting grinned and replied, "That's great."

Then Lucy got a slightly mischievous look on her face before she teased, "Were you worried about Hibiki?"

Sting looked a little annoyed before he admitted, "You have so many admirers, it was hard not to be nervous."

Lucy laughed and replied, "I don't know about that." Then she leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "Besides, no one can hold a candle to My Light."

Sting gently kissed her lips after he said, "And no one loves you more than me."

* * *

It wasn't long after that when Yukino and Gajeel came up to the bar to get a drink. The other Celestial Mage took a seat next to Lucy and said, "Lucy-san, it's so good to see you!"

Lucy smiled back warmly and replied, "Thank you. It's good to see you too. So are you officially on a team with Gajeel and Lily now?"

Gajeel choked on his drink and Yukino just smiled and stated, "Yep! After we got back today, Lily came up and asked me to join them once he was done training Lector."

"That's wonderful!" Lucy exclaimed.

"What's so wonderful about it?" Gajeel asked grumpily which made Sting pull Lucy closer because the tone change had frightened her a bit.

Gajeel realized his mistake before Yukino calmed the situation and said, "It's wonderful because you are a grumpy asshole and I'm a sweet, beautiful young lady. Lily needs some decent company."

Lucy laughed and Gajeel just snorted. However, Yukino just kept a smile on her face and then told Lucy about the mission that they went on and then asked Lucy about how she had been helping Sting. Then Lucy told Yukino about the mission that she wanted to go on next month, to which Sting informed Yukino and Gajeel that they would be amongst the eight people who were going. Lucy thought it was sweet that so many people here were trying to include her and make her feel welcome. She hoped someday that she could return their kindness.

* * *

It was getting late and everyone finally left the pool area except for Lucy and Sting. When Sting removed his shirt he asked, "So did you have a good time tonight?"

"I did," Lucy replied with a smile, "I hope I wasn't a burden to you though."

"You have never been nor will ever be a burden to me," Sting replied, but then he felt like the world had stopped when Lucy removed her swimsuit cover. He knew he shouldn't be checking her out like this, but he couldn't help it. She was stunning in her ruffled two piece suit. He wanted to groan when he tried to suppress the massive boner in his pants, but then the image of what she had looked like when he found her flashed through his mind. Minus the scar on her hand, there were no physical signs that she had been brutally tortured. The thought of Zancrow violating her...how dare that asshole touch her or mar her soft flesh.

Lucy looked over and was a little shy. She hadn't shown this much skin since before she had been taken, but it was just Sting here with her and she didn't mind if he saw her. When she turned to look at him, she saw him staring at her but he looked angry. "S-Sting?" Lucy whispered nervously.

Sting snapped out of his dark thoughts and then cursed himself in his head when he saw that Lucy looked scared. "Sorry Lucy, I was just thinking. Um...you look beautiful."

Lucy's face heated up when Sting came over to her and took her hand. She couldn't help but admire his strong physique. He looked like sex on a stick in his blue swim trunks that matched his sapphire eyes. The light of the water danced off of his delicious looking six-pack and the strong arms that always held her so gently called out to they got into the pool and Lucy eeped at how cool the water felt. Then Sting wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close against his chest.

The pool room was silent except for Lucy's nervous breathing. The way Sting's eyes shine for her made her heart flutter. His firm yet gentle hands caressed her bare skin under the water and Lucy's body suddenly shuddered involuntary from excitement. Sting looked at her in a way that no man had ever looked at her before and in that moment she felt free. She didn't feel the burden of what happened to her weighing down on her mind. She didn't feel scared. The thing she felt was a need of desire for Sting. She wanted his lips everywhere, she wanted his touch everywhere, and she never wanted to lose him. However, she had no idea how she'd react if they went further than kissing.

"What's on your mind?" Sting asked her in a husky tone.

Lucy blushed violently, because she couldn't ever hide anything from him. Somehow over the course of the last several weeks, he seemed to know her better than she knew herself at times.

"Sting..." Lucy whispered out, "I want to be with you..."

"I want to be with you too," Sting replied slightly confused as to why Lucy seemed nervous to say that.

Lucy's big brown eyes looked at him and then he finally understood. He had to suppress himself when she nearly moaned, "I want to be  _ **with**_ you. It's just…I'm scared."

Sting had to take a deep breath to clear his mind, because he had never heard something so sexy in his life before. Then he looked at her worried face and smile, "Lucy, I want to make love to you too."

He grinned when her face got even redder before he added, "But we are in no hurry. I'll wait for you as long as you need; whether it be a year or ten years from now. As long as we end up together, I'd wait for you for eternity."

Lucy felt tears streaming down her face before she replied, "Thank you."

Sting gently brushed away her tears and replied, "Anything for you, Lucy. I'll always be by your side, no matter what happens. I give you my word."


	14. Chapter 14

**I am so appreciative of all of the words of encouragement with this story in particular. In this chapter, Lucy is at that first real stage of what I am going to call 'Trying to get her shit together.' I don't believe that there is an actual term for this stage of her development, but she's at that point now where Sting has created a very safe environment and her logic is starting to kick in. The downside to that is, her trauma was completely illogical. She is struggling with knowing what should be happening in a "normal" life and with what her fears are controlling her with.**

**In this chapter she takes a few big steps and we see some glimpses in how she has been trying to cope.**

* * *

The next two weeks flew by for Lucy. She was very thankful for the daily routine and structure that her life was starting to have. Sting and everyone at Sabertooth were all being great and she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She tried not to show how she was feeling in front of anyone besides Sting, but some days were still so hard for her and she hated it. She hated what she felt like she had become. The other night she had tried writing a letter to her mother like she used to—but the words wouldn't come. Instead she had a panic attack. It sucked. She still found it hard to read books, write, and even look at her spirits a little. She knew that they loved her, but she felt guilty when she would visit with them because it was obvious how much they were worried about her and how much pain she knew that they were in because she had wanted to die while she was with Zancrow. Plus, she didn't know what to do when Scorpio passed notes to her from Aquarius. Even though the Mermaid Spirit and she were separated, Aquarius was still watching over her from afar. However, none of her letters had her usual disgust for Lucy's lifestyle—it was very obvious that Aquarius was more concerned about the trauma Lucy had endured. Lucy felt like everyone was watching her and waiting for her to flip.

Then there was Sting. Her rock. He had meant every word about talking things at her pace and he never pushed her further than with what she would initiate. However, guilt consumed her with Sting too—it had been almost a month and he had not left the guild because of her. They had gone out in Sabertooth's outdoor courtyard, but it still technically belonged to the guild. She had not rejoined actual society in any way. No missions, no shopping, no going out to eat…nothing. She knew how much she had come to love the young Sabertooth Master and she knew that she needed to try and be stronger so that he wouldn't resent her someday. If she brought it up to him, she knew he would say he could never resent her—but she just didn't know. She knew that she could never in her heart resent someone for what they had been through, but not everyone was like her. That is what really terrified her. How long would it be before her spirits or Sting gave up on her? It made her feel so utterly alone.

The couple were sitting together in Sting's office and it had been raining like crazy for the past two days. She knew that it was finally fall because all of the trees in the courtyard had changed color and she loved the fall. She looked across the desk at Sting who was reading a document; tomorrow night Sabertooth would be having a Fall Festival for their guild. It was something Sting had implemented once he became guild master and it was going to be Sabertooth's first one. There was going to be drinks, games, food, and prizes. Luckily it was just the members of Sabertooth attending the event and Lucy was getting familiar and used to everyone so she was not overly worried about getting too scared—still, she wanted it to be a great time for Sting.

"Hey Sting," Lucy said finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah Babe?" Sting asked as he stopped reading and looked up at her with a dazzling smile. Every time he called her that, her face always got flushed. He was just too damn cute and sexy all mixed in to one.

"I know it is still two weeks away until our mission to go help Edmund and Aurora, but I was wondering if we could possibly go on a mission together before that?" Lucy asked with hesitation. She felt like her voice had caught halfway during her sentence because even asking Sting that terrified her. It took everything she had in her not to cry.

Sting's senses immediately went into hyper drive as he looked at the woman he loved. Every day he could see how hard she was trying and he knew her well enough to know that she was probably feeling guilty about him staying by her side so much. She had no reason to be worried or worried that he would resent her, but he admired how despite everything she had been though—she still thought about others before herself. "Lucy," he replied with a warm smile before he got up to go sit on the edge of his desk. He always allowed Lucy to sit in his chair, not because he thought she looked sexy in it, but because she was the one actually doing all of the paperwork and she should at least be comfortable. "Why do you want to go on a mission?"

His heart pained him when she looked down at her nervous hands in her lap. He could sense her sadness when she admitted, "I'm afraid that because I have been here at Sabertooth for so long, that when we go and try to help Edmund that I will have a panic attack. I really don't want that to happen because I really want to try and help him."

Sting took his finger and held it under Lucy's chin before he asked, "Lucy, Babe, look at me."

Lucy's eyes were already beginning to fill with tears when she looked up into Sting's mesmerizing azure eyes. He smiled at her gently and replied, "I want to do whatever it is you feel comfortable with, just know that no matter what I am going to be by your side protecting you and helping you grow."

She couldn't help it when the tears started to fall. She honestly felt like she didn't deserve him, but she knew that if she tried and expressed that fear to him then he would just tell her that she was silly. Instead she stood up between his legs and nestled herself against his chest—her favorite place to be. Every time he wrapped his strong arms around her she felt safe and felt like she was home. His scent was intoxicating to her and smelled better than any therapeutic bath salts that Porlyusica sent to her. Sting's scent was safe and warm. Ever since the night that they swam together in the pool, their relationship went to a new level. The only way Lucy could describe it was that it was more intimate on an emotional and physical level. All they had done was kiss a little, Sting had been nothing but a gentleman to her, but her need to physically touch him kept growing more and more. Even if it was just rubbing his arm when they were sitting next to each other or putting he head in his lap in the evenings in his room. She heard Rogue call them magnets the other day. She remembered blushing at the comment and all Sting said was _, 'Damn right we are.'_  The comment had made her happy.

Her thoughts were finally broken when Sting asked, "What kind of mission sounds appealing to you?" Then he kissed her on the cheek before he added, "You probably have them all memorized since you are the one that posts all of our open jobs."

Lucy couldn't help but smile at that comment. It is true that she handled all of the job postings now. It reminded her of being like Mira a little. She knew that after Mira thought she had lost Lisanna that even she became scared and was consumed with grief. The thought almost gave her some hope that even someone as powerful as Mira could lose their way a little, but still find their way back. She hoped that someday she would be like Mira too and find her spark.

She took a deep breath before she handed Sting the job description that caught her eye. She watched his reaction carefully as he scanned the document in his hand. She knew he could probably hear her heart beat, because she actually felt a little excited about the job she had found. It was an overnight observation at an astronomy tower not far from where they were. The owners of it were about to have their first child together and didn't want to miss charting the meteor shower that would happen in three days. It was safe, close enough to Sabertooth, but still out of her comfort zone at the moment.

Sting looked up at her with a grin before he replied, "I think this is the perfect job for you to start again on."

"Really?" Lucy asked in excitement.

"Of course!" Sting encouraged her, "It's perfect for you. An overnight observation at an astronomy tower? This will be incredible!"

"So can we try it?" Lucy asked nervously.

"Of course," Sting replied as he pulled her closer against his body. She bit her lip because she loved how his abs felt. Today he was wearing a long black shirt that covered his torso, but she could still feel every line of every muscle. She felt so safe. Lucy smiled up at him before she stood on her tip-toes and gently brushed her lips against his. She felt him grin before he returned the kiss with a gentle fervor. She couldn't help but find his smugness a little amusing.

Once they came up for some air, Sting was the first to ask, "So do you want to contact the job requestor or shall I?"

"I can," Lucy replied with a smile before she gave Sting a quick kiss on his nose.

Sting chuckled at Lucy's actions before he watched his girl excitedly call the job requestors to let them know that she and Sting, the Master of Sabertooth (he loved it when she called him by his title), were going to take the job and that they would be there in three days. However, his mind was already thinking about back-up plans to make sure that Lucy felt safe on the mission. He knew that Laxus and his team were getting back from a mission today and after the festival, Rogue and Rufus were going to go on a mission together which left Laxus, Gajeel, and Orga here at Sabertooth. But if Lucy wished it, he could have the three slayers camp near the observatory and they could set a perimeter to make sure she felt safe.

"Hey," Lucy said quietly as she put her arm on his, "What's wrong?"

He felt like shit, because he realized that a deep scowl had sat over his face. He pulled her into his embrace and replied, "Nothing, Babe. I was just wondering if you would feel better if we asked some of the other Slayers to camp near where we will be doing our mission."

He could tell that Lucy's nerves didn't change when she answered, "I want to do what you think is best. I know in this moment I am not scared of the mission because it is so close to here, but if I'm being honest with myself—I haven't been out in a while."

Sting nodded his head in agreement before he admitted, "If it is ok with you then I will ask them to set a perimeter around the observatory. That way your first mission back can be stress free."

The two looked at each other and Lucy felt relieved by Sting's decision before she stated, "Sting, I really do appreciate everything you do for me."

He gave her one of his heart stopping smiles before he let his strong hands roam a little on her body. Her heart began to beat faster in suspense when he replied, "Believe me, being with you every damn day—I am the appreciative one."

Lucy hugged the man she was falling hard for closely one more time. Sometimes she wished time would stop so that she could remain in Sting's embrace uninterrupted before the reality of her world came crashing down. Her night terrors plagued her dreams, the outside world terrified her, but here in Sting's arms—everything felt ok.

As she played with the collar of his jacket, she asked, "I also thought that maybe a good small step tomorrow would be if we could go to the market. We need to get groceries and I don't want to make Yukino or Minerva have to do it anymore. In my mind, I know it is not logical that he will show up in the middle of the day while we are just getting groceries."

Sting pulled Lucy closer again, because he could tell that Lucy's emotions weren't matching her words. She was terrified that even though logic was on her side, something bad still might happen. It makes sense since what happened to her was the exact opposite of logic. He had no idea how she managed every day. To him, she was one of the bravest people in all of Earthland.

"I think that would be a good idea," Sting said in a comforting tone, "I'll still ask Laxus and Orga to accompany us though. We can give Gajeel a week off from grocery shopping duty."

She let out a giggle at Sting's comment, because Yukino told her last week that while she and Gajeel were shopping, a little old woman came up to them and told them what a nice, young married couple they were and how Gajeel was a great husband to go with his wife every week. Lily and Yukino found it to be hilarious—but Gajeeel did not. The rest of the day at the guild, everyone kept calling Gajeel, Mr. Agria. He was not amused.

After Sting held onto her a few more minutes, and she knew it was probably because he could sense her fear, they gathered up their things so that they could help their guild get ready for the Fall Festival.

* * *

**The Next Day…**

Lucy looked in the mirror and fidgeted a little. For the first time in weeks, she actually felt beautiful. Virgo had picked out a pair of dark tights along with a wine colored skater skirt and denim blue button up top with a wine and mustard plaid colored scarf. She let her golden hair fall down around the scarf and finished off her look with a hint of lip stain. Tonight was the big Fall Festival and Lucy couldn't wait to see everyone. She had really enjoyed the fact that Laxus and Gajeel had joined Sabertooth to help her. It had given her the opportunity to get to know them a little better, along with their team. She just hoped no matter what, that everyone was happy and finding joy in their new lives—even if they just joined a guild to help protect her.

Finally Lucy checked her appearance one last time and flattened out her skirt with her hands before she stepped out of the bathroom. Sting and Lector were already waiting for her in the living room where she found them playing Lacrimaii Tennis. She giggled a little as she watched Lector dive for the virtual ball with the remote around his paw.

"I got you, Sting-kun!" Lector yelled as he scored on his best friend.

"Holy shit, Lector, you've gotten way better at this!" Sting laughed as the Exceed high fived him.

Lector's face just beamed up at his best friend before he replied, "It's all thanks to Lily's training. I'm becoming a beast."

Lucy and Sting couldn't help but crack up as Lector flexed his small arm muscle at them. Then Lucy felt her heart skip a beat when Sting's eyes widened at her appearance before it turned into his pervy smolder (as she called it). "Babe, you look incredible," Sting stated as he quickly crossed the room to her side.

"I like your scarf!" Lector added in.

"T-thanks," Lucy stammered with a deep blush setting on her face as Sting's hand snaked around her waist, "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Whenever you are," Sting replied in a gentle tone as he gave her side a light squeeze. Lector, like most people, was oblivious to the real connection between Sting and Lucy. She knew that by him saying that to her meant that he would follow her lead entirely. If she was ready to take on the world, then he'd be there. If she was ready to hide, then he'd protect her. He really was her Light, especially in the darkest places her mind now reached.

After she nodded her head, the non-traditional family made their way to the main guild hall were the festivities were just starting up. They had spent most of the day yesterday decorating, setting up games, and baking. Well…Lucy and Minerva were baking while most of the guys "tested" the alcohol that they had purchased. Although, her and Minerva might have sampled a bit of the rum for all of the rum cakes that they made. It is a cardinal rule of baking.

As the three approached the entrance, Lucy squeezed Sting's arm at all of the lights that hung around the guild hall. The guild had planted lacrima fall trees that grew the night before and Yukino, Gajeel, and Lily had hung beautiful white lights in all of them. The tables were covered in dark red and orange tablecloths that were adorned with fruits, pastries, cakes, sweets, and copious amounts of alcohol.

Everyone stood around mingling but when Sting and Lucy entered the room, everyone got a smile on their faces and turned towards the couple. Sting reached his hand down and grabbed Lucy's just as Lector ran over to stand by Frosch and Lily. The young Master led his girlfriend over to his throne where the guild awaited his speech.

Lucy tried to remain calm and steady her breath with the tricks she had read about. She wasn't used to having this many eyes on her at once, but she didn't want to ruin Sting's big moment. Rogue walked up to them with two glasses just as everyone grabbed their own glass for the toast. The Shadow Dragon Slayer smiled at them before he whispered, "Lucy," then handed her a glass, before he turned to Sting and handed him another glass and added, "Don't fuck it up."

"Shut the fuck up," Sting snorted with a smile.

Rogue just shrugged his shoulders before he went to stand by Yukino and Gajeel. Lucy could feel her hand start to shake, then Sting gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he whispered to her, "I'm right here and you are safe and loved."

She looked into his eyes and gave him a smile before she whispered back to him, "Thank you and good luck."

Sting gave her a coy wink before he cleared his throat and looked at his guild and said, "Nakama, Sabertooth has been through a lot the past few months. Not long ago we were the number one guild in Fiore."

A few cheers went up, but then everyone grew quiet and somber before Sting added, "And we were a guild full of dicks. We were assholes, bullies, and beyond fucked up." There was a brief pause before Sting squeeze Lucy's hand and added, "Then we met a bunch of Fairies who opened our eyes."

Lucy looked at her old guild mates who smiled back at her before Sting finished, "Not only did they open our eyes, but they opened our hearts. We might have been the strongest guild in Fiore, but I really believe that with all of my heart—we are stronger now than we ever were before. So this night is for that new guild; a guild full of friends and family. Cheers!"

"CHEERS!" the guild cried back out as everyone downed their first drink. The loud sound made Lucy jump and clutch onto Sting.

Sting just held her close as he finished his drink before he whispered to her, "You did it."

"Yeah," Lucy said a little breathlessly. She was a mixture of embarrassed for being so jumpy but really happy that she made it through—no panic attack. She was slowly recovering at that was something worth celebrating as she also took a drink.

Suddenly, the guild doors flew open and there stood a lone Rune Knight who screamed, "MASTER STING! THERE HAS BEEN FIRE MAGIC SPOTTED IN THE WAAS FOREST!"

Lucy barely felt the glass she was holding slip threw her hands just before she lost vision.


	15. Chapter 15

This PTSD chapter has a few aspects in it; the first is how draining a panic attack can be—both physically and mentally.

The other part shows the conflicting emotions someone faces when it comes to intimacy. Some survivors, with PTSD, experience a complete libido drain and are not interested in that form of intimacy. There are also instances of almost a hypersexual where they crave physical affection after assault.

Lucy is actually neither of those cases, but somewhere in-between. She wants Sting because he has done nothing but make her feel safe and loved, but she is unaware at how much she can give. She just knows mentally she feels like she needs/craves him.

Enjoy!

* * *

Sting grabbed Lucy who was starting to panic and growled at Rogue, "Get that fucktard knight out of here and send Laxus and Orga to that spot now! I want a report, tonight!"

Rogue nodded and he didn't need to kick the knight out because Gajeel was already dragging the man by the back of his neck out of the guild. The Shadow Dragon Slayer found the two lightning men, who had become oddly close friends—and had a deep love and respect for Lucy, before he said, "Sting needs you guys to get to the Waas forest tonight and repot back on the fire magic."

Both men looked ready for action when Orga replied, "Will do, you guys just take care of Tiny."

"If it's Zancrow, we will find him and kick his zombie ass back to hell," Laxus grunted as he slung his coat over his shoulders.

Rogue watched as the two men transformed into lightning and departed from their guild. With his Dragon hearing, he could hear Gajeel ripping the Knight a new asshole about barging in and triggering Lucy. Then he turned to look down the hallway, because Sting was taking Lucy back to their room and felt such deep sorrow for his best friend as he tried to console the woman that he loved.

"Do you think she will be ok?" Yukino asked in concern as she came up beside him.

"I hope so," Rogue replied with a sigh just as Gajeel stormed back into the guild.

Lily walked up to Gajeel and asked, "Did the knight know anything else?"

"Fucking piece of shit," Gajeel growled, "I'm going to go call Levy now and tell her that she needs to fire that asshole. The dipshit didn't know a damn thing. Didn't even call it in to report it so Levy could determine the magic. It could have been some damn kid practicing magic for all we know!"

Minerva and Rufus had both joined their friends and the woman asked, "What do you mean Levy could determine the magic?"

"Shrimp is pretty smart," Gajeel replied as he rubbed the back of his neck in frustration, "She wrote a spell to analyze crime scenes with and the list of potential mages who could have done it. The spell works so well it could easily detect if it was Zancrow or not because she took samples from where Lucy had been held prisoner."

"So we didn't need to send Laxus and Orga away then?" Rogue asked in annoyance. His thoughts went incredibly dark as he thought about what if it was Zancrow and he was on his way here?

"It's prob best they did go, because like I said—the jackass didn't report it," Gajeel snapped back at Rogue, "They will get there before Levy can and if it is that fucking psychopath, then those two monsters can take care of him or at least alert us if he is on his way."

Before Rogue could argue that Gajeel needed to watch his tone, Yukino put her hands up and asked Gajeel and Lily, "Will you guys walk me home? I don't feel like staying for the party anymore—especially if Lucy can't be here with us to celebrate."

"Of course," Lily replied before he waved goodbye to Lector and Frosch. The other two Exceeds had been standing near the hallway that led to Sting's and Lucy's room because Lector was pretty torn up about seeing Lucy have a panic attack.

Gajeel nodded as he and Lily began to escort their teammate home. Yukino smiled up at the Iron Dragon Slayer and warmly said, "You can call Levy at my place of you want. I know I won't be able to sleep tonight. Not until I know if it was Zancrow or not."

"Don't worry," Gajeel replied in his gruff, but trying to hide his soft side tone, "Lily and I will sleep on your couch."

"Thank you," Yukino smiled at the Iron Dragon Slayer before she looked back at Rogue and said, "Call me as soon as Orga-san and Laxus-san know something."

"Gajeel," Rogue added, "Keep your lacrima on you. I am going to post guards throughout the town all night in case Zancrow does show."

Gajeel nodded in understanding before the newest team left the guild. Rogue looked around the guild and sighed heavily, because Sabertooth was now in disarray. Everyone had come to love Lucy and the other members of Fairy Tail. She was almost held in reverence like a mother with how kind she was to everyone, even though she suffered so much internally.

Freed had joined them with Bickslow and Evergreen behind him before the Rune Mage asked them, "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Rogue looked around and said, "I think it would be best if we ended the celebration early, because everyone is too worked up. However, Freed and Rufus…Is there a way that you two could possibly lay traps around the city? I know that Zancrow can cancel out non-Slayer magic, but is there a way that if he disarms some spell that you guys set, that we could still be notified that it failed?"

Freed replied first, "Off the top of my head I believe there are about a dozen different spells that we could try."

"If my memory serves me correctly, there are some that would work quite well; however, it would take the better part of a day to put those in place," Rufus added in.

"Rufus, I know that we were supposed to go on a mission in the morning, but I would feel much better about you and Freed working on those spells instead," Rogue directed, "Since we don't know if it was Zancrow or not, I want Sting to have peace of mind that we are doing everything we can to help him prepare and keep Lucy safe." Then the Shadow Dragon Slayer turned to Minerva, Bickslow, and Evergreen and asked, "Will you three go in place of Rufus and me on our mission? I would hate to cancel the job so late on the client."

Evergreen spoke up, "Of course, Lucy's safety comes first." Minerva and Bickslow both nodded their heads in agreement.

"Thank you, all of you," Rogue replied, "Now Freed and Rufus, feel free to get started. Everyone else, please help me announce the delay of the party to everyone else."

Everyone went about their tasks immediately and began to mentally prepare themselves for the possibility that it could be Zancrow. However, something in the back of Rogue's mind told him that Zancrow would not allow himself to be caught or noticed so easily—instead he had a feeling that it was a certain, clueless Fire Dragon Slayer causing his usual chaos and completely oblivious to the fact that his once former best friend was now afraid to leave Sting Eucliffe's side. He made a mental note to himself to prepare for the day that Natsu Dragneel showed back up in their lives—mostly likely wanting to take Lucy back to Fairy Tail.

* * *

Sting knew that he wasn't supposed to touch Lucy while she was having a panic attack without asking her for her permission first, but he knew her and knew that she would hate to have a breakdown in front of everyone—which is why when he heard her glass fall to the ground he immediately picked her up to take her back to their room where she would be safe and away from everyone's eyes.

He felt awful as he briskly walked down the hall holding her. He could feel her shallowed breaths and her body wouldn't stop shaking from fear. He wanted to punch something so bad because of that stupid knight just barging in and announcing out loud that he had spotted fire magic. Rogue better kick that fucktard's ass.

When he got Lucy to the room, he immediately sat her down on their bed and then started the tasks that Porlyusica told him for Lucy's panic attacks. The old woman had come to visit them the other day to check on his girlfriend. She was impressed by Lucy's progress; however, the doctor reminded him once again that Lucy would always have PTSD and that there would be ups and downs and if he was really dedicated to her then he would do everything he could on her bad days and her good ones. So he gently kissed her head and whispered, "Lucy, I need you to take a deep breath for me and just focus on trying to hold it for four seconds."

He struggled to keep his own voice calm, because she hadn't had an attack this bad in a long time. He was afraid that if she didn't slow her breathing down then she would hyperventilate and pass out. Then he grabbed the eucalyptus candle on her night stand and lit it before he said in a calmer tone, "Breathe for me, Baby."

He knew that Lucy was trying as hard as she could before he grabbed the gray fuzzy blanket that was at the foot of their bed and pulled it over her and tucked the corner under her hand. He remembered that the old physician had told him that certain smells and items would help ground her. He gently rubbed her leg before he went into their bathroom and began to run water in the big bath for her at an extra hot temperature since he knew she wouldn't get in it right away. He didn't mind doing any of these things at all, especially with how well Lucy took care of him, Lector, and even the guild. His heart ached for her, because she was so damn kind to everyone. Last week she had baked cookies for one of their guild mates that had just lost their father. She always thought of others and he would cherish her until the day he died.

After he poured some lavender salts in the tub and turned the water off, he went back out to their bedroom and laid down next to her. He could tell that her breathing was starting to even out as he got into a spooning position so that she knew she was safe and let her cry.

It was about an hour before Lucy rolled over to look at Sting. One of his eyes popped open from the movement and met the blood-shot eyes of his girlfriend looking back at him. "Sting," Lucy whispered, "I-I'm so scared."

A frown fell on his face as he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead before he replied, "I have you and I won't let anything happen to you."

Her eyes dropped to his chest before she added, "I-is it him?"

Sting knew what she was asking when he pulled her close to him, so that her head rested on his chest, before he replied, "Orga and Laxus are heading there now and I will know something soon; however, remember that you are safe and I will never let him touch you. It is very likely that it is not him at all and it was an overzealous knight."

Lucy just nodded into Sting's chest as he began to stroke the back of her head gently. "Are you ready for a bath?" he asked.

She just gave him another nod and he knew that she never really said a lot after bigger attacks like this. They almost seemed to suck all the energy out of her. He kissed her forehead again and asked, "Do you want me to carry you in there?"

That remark made Lucy giggle a little before she replied, "Thank you, but I can manage."

"Just take all my fun away," Sting added in a playful tone.

Lucy leaned up and pressed her lips to his to give him a small thanks for everything that he had done for her. She knew he must have gotten her out of the main hall fast, because she had blacked out a little from the fear of Zancrow's return. He was the only person she would allow to touch her like that because she knew that she was safe in his arms. It was just like when she was a prisoner and all she saw was a bright light in the darkness—it was the same when she had panic attacks…a constant light shining over her and protecting her.

After she slowly pulled away, she gave her another smile and said, "Thanks again."

Sting gave her a warm grin and replied, "You're welcome. Let me know when you get settled in there because I got a surprise for you."

"You're too good to me," Lucy smiled as she grabbed some pajamas out of her dresser.

Sting just winked at her and watched as she walked into the bathroom and gently closed the door. He quickly hopped up off of the bed and ran to his own dresser and pulled out some white chocolate truffles that he asked Yukino to pick up for him for Lucy. He knew on nights like this she needed a little extra pick-me-up.

A few minutes later, Sting finally heard Lucy tell him that she was ready. He found it somewhat funny that she loved having him in the bathroom with her while she took baths. He was definitely not going to complain, because he loved the view and he could sense that Lucy enjoyed showing him certain aspects of her flesh too. He could tell that she was getting more comfortable with herself around him because the past two weeks she had done subtle things here and there that tested him and sent his Dragon senses on overload.

He quickly grabbed the box of chocolates before he entered into the bathroom to see the beautiful blonde sitting in the middle of the Jacuzzi tub with bubbles all around her and her hair tied up in neat bun. He couldn't wait for the day where he finally got to join her in that bath. However, he kept a smile on his face as he unwrapped the box of chocolates and said, "I had Yukino pick these up for you the other day. They are white chocolate truffles. Want one?"

He could see her eyes light up at the word chocolate as she nodded her head eagerly. He grabbed one before he leaned down to the bath next to her and said in a husky voice, "Open your mouth so I can feed it to you."

Blush lightly colored her face before she moved closer to the edge of the tub. All Lucy could describe was that she felt…weird. She wanted Sting, but she was so afraid of having a flashback if she were to get too intimate. However, she wanted his touch to erase the bad things that had happened to her. He was gentle and kind and she felt like she needed him. Then when she opened her mouth to take the chocolate from him—she felt it go into her mouth and instead of closing it to accept the treat, she pushed her mouth forward to wrap around his index finger and gave it a light suck before she retreated with the chocolate in her mouth.

She felt something awaken in her a little when she saw his eyes grow wide and sat there frozen. She felt foolish for what she had done before she whispered out, "I'm sorry."

Sting shook his head no and replied in a husky voice, "Oh god no, don't be."

She felt tired and turned on all at the same time. She looked at Sting bashfully before she admitted, "Sting, I feel strange. I feel terrified—but I trust that you don't think it is him. I want you to touch me everywhere—please make me feel safe."

Sting took a steadying breath before he responded, "I think we should take baby steps—tonight has been pretty emotional." Then he saw the defeated look on her face like she was getting rejected before he quickly tried to get her out of those dark thoughts and asked, "What can I do right now that would help? You are so goddamn beautiful, Lucy and I want you so bad but I don't want you to get scared by something I do."

He watched as her face softened a little at his explanation before she asked quietly, "Will you take a bath with me?"

"Hells yes," Sting sighed and he wanted to rip his clothes off as fast as he could when he saw Lucy's eyes light up again and she nibbled on her bottom lip playfully.

He had already taken off his shirt when there was a knock at the door. He let out a low growl and grunted, "Mother fucker."

However, he soon knew the moment had passed because it was probably Rogue giving him a report. Lucy went back to having a worried look on her face before Sting said, "Babe, I'll be right back."

She just nodded as he exited the bathroom. His balls ached from getting turned on so easy and he wanted to Dragon's Roar right there in his living room when he cracked the door open and growled, "What?"

Rogue was standing there with a somber look on his face when he stated in a dry voice, "Sorry to disturb you, but I thought you'd want to know what Orga and Laxus had found out."

Sting let out a low sigh and then he heard Lucy's voice from behind him say in a shaky tone, "I want to know."

He turned around to look at her and his heart broke with how scared she looked and tears were already running down her eyes. His boner immediately disappeared when he saw Lucy in her fuzzy, long white robe all bundled up and shaking like a leaf. Sting looked back at Rogue and opened the door further before he went to stand by Lucy who immediately clutched onto him. He felt like a total prick in that moment, because for a second he almost let himself give in to his desires instead of putting her needs first.

Lucy held him close and he gently stroked her back as Rogue came in and said, "I will start by saying that it was not Zancrow."

Sting looked up at the ceiling in relief for Lucy, but at the same time he wanted to find that dirt bag and end him; however, Lucy just held onto him tighter when she said, "So he's still out there…"

"For now," Rogue replied honestly, "But you are safe here."

Lucy just nodded before Sting asked, "If it wasn't him, then who the hell was it and why in the hell did that Knight pull that shit?"

"The Knight has been demoted," Rogue answered, "He did not have the authority to do what he did. The magic that was used in the forest was just a couple of young kids who were practicing their magic alone for the first time without their parents' supervision. Orga and Laxus made sure that they were turned over to the authorities for their parents to come pick them up. I don't think those kids will ever break the law again after seeing how pissed off Orga and Laxus were."

Everyone grew quiet in the room and it was actually shocking when Rogue and Sting heard Lucy start to laugh. The blonde then looked up at Sting and stated, "I would have been scared to be a kid and then those two show up and yell at me—they are probably going to be traumatized."

Sting couldn't help but laugh at Lucy's odd sense of humor in that moment before he let out the breath he had been holding in and stated, "Well at least Sabertooth was able to help stop a victimless crime tonight."

Lucy smiled at him and then turned to Rogue and said, "Thank you for coming to tell us—I am very sorry about the party."

Rogue just shook his head and said, "No need to worry at all—we are all just glad that you are safe."

"Thanks Rogue," Sting added, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

The Shadow Dragon Slayer nodded his head and replied, "That would be good, I have Freed and Rufus working on a project right now that will help all of us I think."

Sting acknowledged the statement then when the door closed behind Rogue, the young Guild Master looked down at Lucy who looked like she was about to fall asleep where she stood. He gently rubbed her back and asked, "Are you ready to lay down?"

Lucy just nodded her head and allowed Sting to escort her to their bed. She felt guilty for possibly leading him on. She really did want him, but maybe the moment had already passed. However, she knew that soon she would want more than cuddles and kisses.

* * *

When the morning came around, Lucy opened her eyes and saw that Sting was not there. She allowed herself to have a full body stretch before she looked around the room for him. There wasn't any sound coming from anywhere and she looked over at the clock and it only read 7:20 a.m.

She didn't want to panic, but he never left without saying anything…then to her relief and surprise he came through the front door wearing athletic shorts, ear buds, and his body was covered in a sheen veil of sweat. She didn't know whether to be angry at him, for not leaving a note, or mad at herself for acting this way—or turned on by his god-like smoking hot body.

"Good morning," Lucy spoke up.

Sting got a smile on his face at the sight of her, which melted her heart a little, before he replied, "Morning Beautiful. How did you sleep?"

"Good," Lucy kept it short, "You?"

"I didn't sleep well," Sting admitted before he added, "It's why I went running this morning."

"Oh, I didn't know," Lucy admitted.

Sting looked confused and asked, "Did my note fall off the bed?"

Lucy looked over at his pillow and sure enough there was a note from Sting that read:

_Hey Babe:_

_I'm going to go on a run and will be back before 7:30 a.m. If you need me, I have my small communication lacrima._

_Love you,_

_Sting_

_PS: Your nose has the cutest wiggle when you have a good dream._

Lucy felt like shit for overacting, in her head. She quickly tried to push her dark thoughts away when she answered, "Sorry, I just didn't see it."

Sting smiled at her before he headed towards the bathroom and said, "I need a really cold shower now. Feel free to join."

"A cold shower?" Lucy laughed.

"Well if you join, it will heat up," Sting teased her with a wink.

Lucy just laughed at his playfulness this morning before she admitted, "I was actually going to get our grocery list ready. Do you think we could eat breakfast out too?"

Sting's eyes widened at her before he replied, "I'd love to take you out on a Breakfast date."

Lucy blushed a little before she asked, "Date?"

"You're my girl remember?" Sting replied with a grin, "I better start doing good boyfriend-like things for you."

Lucy let out a hum of happiness before she stated, "Sting, you do so much for me. I am a very lucky girl."

"I'm lucky too and I'll tell you that as often as you need to hear it, but calling myself your boyfriend sounds so—young," Sting admitted as he sat his earbuds down on the table.

Lucy nodded her head in a sad agreement before Sting added, "No matter what we are, you are mine and I am yours. You are stuck with me, Babe."

She giggled when Sting quickly jumped on the bed to kiss her nose, then hopped off before he got the bed dirty. Then he gave her wink before he disappeared into their bathroom. Lucy felt nervous and excited. Today she was finally going to go outside of the guild for the first time since her arrival—and have a date with her incredible man. He was right, they were more than boyfriend and girlfriend. Calling him her boyfriend sounded so child-like. Soulmates sounded to storybook and she knew that the world was far scarier than that.

Either way, Lucy was happy that Sting was hers and then a sadness crept through her heart when she thought about Aquarius. She wished she could tell the Spirit everything that she had been through and tell her about Sting. Maybe soon she would write a note to her and ask Scorpio to pass it on. But right now, she needed to get ready for her first date and try not to have a panic attack.

* * *

Sting thought Lucy looked adorable in her soft white dress. She had paired it with a burnt orange boyfriend cardigan and dark brown tights with knee high tan boots. She was the essence of fall; however, he could sense her nerves.

"How are you doing?" Sting asked sincerely as he put on his jacket.

"I don't know…" Lucy admitted.

He came up and put his arm around her waist and said, "We will go as slow and fast as you want."

Lucy just nodded and looked at him. His blue eyes looked at her so lovingly that it made her heart melt before she reached up and gently kissed his lips. She could hear him groan in approval before she smiled and said, "I'm ready as long as you stay by me."

"I wouldn't dare leave your side," he grinned at her before he extended his arm for her to hold.

Lucy's smile widened as they left their room together and made their way to the main guild hall. It was nearing 8:30 at the guild was finally starting to wake up. Every guild member that saw them greeted them politely. When Sting went running early this morning, he gave the other Slayers the heads up that Lucy wanted to try and go to the market today. Gajeel and Rogue both volunteered since Laxus and Orga did not get back until late last night. Sting felt bad because he wanted to give Gajeel some time off from the grocery errands, but the Iron Dragon Slayer didn't seem to mind at all.

When they reached the main entrance, Yukino, Lily, Gajeel, Rogue, Frosch, and Lector were all eating breakfast together. When Lector saw the couple approaching he waved and shouted, "Sting-kun! Lucy-san!"

Yukino gave Lucy a warm smile and stated, "You look lovely today, Lucy."

"Thank you," Lucy replied with a smile as she held onto Sting's arm.

Then Sting looked at Gajeel and Rogue and said, "We've had a minor change of plans, Lucy would like to go out for breakfast first for our first official date."

Yukino, Lector, and Frosch all cheered, which made Lucy blush. Rogue seemed unfazed by all of it as he continued to eat his breakfast, but Gajeel looked a little disturbed.

Lucy seemed to sense that in Gajeel when she spoke up and said, "If that isn't too much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," Rogue spoke up finally with a smile and then Gajeel quickly fixed his face.

"I think it's really sweet!" Yukino stated; however, she had noticed the change in Gajeel, "Do you want my advice on where to go?"

"Sure!" Lucy answered, her spirits picking back up a little.

"There is a little café called The Scrumptious Strawberry," Yukino giggled, "It is so cute and kind of French-chic like. They have the best waffles there."

"That sounds delicious," Lucy replied before she looked up at Sting and asked, "Can we go there?"

Sting smiled before he kissed her hand and answered, "Of course, Lucy."

"It's really good," Lily spoke up, "Gajeel took me and Yukino there last week."

With that comment, Rogue choked on his breakfast and Gajeel gave him a death glare. Sting smirked at the comment, because he could tell that Yukino was starting to grow sweet on the Iron Dragon Slayer; however, the man still seemed to carry a torch for Lucy. Then he stated, "Rogue and Gajeel, we will start heading that way if you guys want to follow soon?"

The two Dragon Slayers nodded and Lucy clutched Sting's arm tighter as they began their journey back to the main doors. He looked down at her and asked her one last time, "Are you ready?"

Lucy took a deep breath and with a smile on her face she replied, "Yes."


	16. Chapter 16

**No real lesson on PTSD this time other than Lucy feeling shame and guilt. Which is a natural and ok feeling to have after trauma. Her companions are just awesome in this story and if everyone had friends like she did, the world would be a better place. Please enjoy just blissful fluff. :D**

**Also…** **I apologize for any typos, as you are probably aware...I’ve updated A LOT today and have been struggling with an illness.**

**Please enjoy and remember to comment!**

* * *

 

Lucy had a wonderful time on her first real date with Sting. Not only did she get to have a super delicious meal, but seeing Sting so happy that she was out and about made her happy and proud of herself that she was brave enough to try. Even if it was a breakfast date…

* * *

 

The day finally arrived for her first mission. She had easily packed her overnight necessities and a journal to take notes with. The owners of the observatory were beyond excited when she had called them up, the actual Lucy Heartfilia was coming to chart the meteor shower for them. The excitement in the couple’s voice made her feel both happy and sad. One, she kind of forgot just how popular or famous she was with people. Two, they were excited about a Fairy Tail Mage coming to help. She quickly pointed out to them that she was now in Sabertooth, but the couple didn’t seem to mind at all. The whole thing was just awkward.

Then she felt even more awkward, and like a burden, when the other Slayers began to escort her and Sting to the observatory location. However, the guilty feeling she had deep in her stomach quickly vanished when Yukino and the Exceeds decided to tag along with picnic baskets because everyone wanted to watch the meteor shower from their various campsites.

Lucy had heard what had happened after the disaster of the Fall Festival and how everyone pitched in to help or cover various jobs. Nobody blamed her and instead everyone was pissed off at the Rune Knights for causing her so much grief. However, Lucy knew Levy had her back and would whip those Knights into shape before too long.

After Sting and Lucy said goodbye to the last of their friends, her boyfriend grabbed her hand and teased, “Finally, alone with my girl,” as they made their way to the observatory.

She couldn’t help but let out a giggle as they walked on the quiet country gravel road before she said, “Sting?”

“Hm?” he looked at her with such a happy face as though they were the only two people that mattered in all of Earthland.

“Thanks for doing this,” Lucy smiled at him, “Everyone coming to help, you taking me on this very simple mission—it means the world to me.”

She couldn’t help but laugh when he got his pervy smolder going before he pulled her close to him and replied, “Lucy, we’d do anything for the Queen of the Guild.”

He was just about to place a passionate kiss on her when she choked on laughter and asked, “Queen?”

He gave her his dazzling smile and shrugged, “Of course, I have throne—which makes me a King. And you my lovely girlfriend, are my Queen…aaaaaand everyone else’s.”

She couldn’t hide her amusement at his logic as she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before they continued their trek to the observatory. The day was too beautiful to be anything but content and happy as the fall countryside came alive around them. She wished she could feel like this every day.

When they reached the astronomy tower, Sting couldn’t help but smile. Lucy was growing so much and she had no idea she even was. The young couple greeted them with happy faces and gave them a tour. He watched carefully and Lucy didn’t even flinch when the couple reached out to shake her hand. The wife who was swollen with child took a seat as her husband showed them where everything was. The couple had made lots of foods and told Lucy and Sting to help themselves and it wasn’t even until near the end of the tour that the husband even noticed that he, Sting Eucliffe, was the one with the amazing Lucy Heartfilia. Lucy was definitely the star of the show in this young couple’s eyes.

Then when the couple’s carriage finally arrived to take them to the nearest hospital, the young man stated, “Thank you again so much, Lucy—and Sting, for charting this for us. We probably won’t be home for a few days so please just lock up when you are finished tomorrow.”

“You are very welcome,” Lucy smiled back at them, “And good luck tomorrow!”

The wife looked at her husband and asked, “Did you tell her what we were going to name the child if it is a girl?”

The man laughed nervously and scratched his head before he replied sheepishly, “No, I didn’t want to weird her out.”

Sting watched as Lucy blinked in surprise before the other woman held up two silver keys; Triangulum and Triangulum Australe. The pregnant woman smiled warmly before she stated, “If we have a girl, we are going to name her Lucy after you.”

He watched as his girlfriend looked completely taken aback before the woman added, “I admired you before your guild went missing all those years ago; then when I heard you resurfaced and were in the games, I closed this place down so I could come watch you in Crocus. You gave so many girls, like me, hope to be who we are and it didn’t matter if we were the strongest or the bravest, but what was in our hearts. I hope I have a girl who is as brave and beautiful as you.”

Sting nearly got choked up himself and he couldn’t hide the large smile on his face when Lucy lunged at the pregnant woman and began to cry with her. He closed his eyes in happiness, when he heard Lucy whisper, “Thank you.”

 After they waved goodbye to the couple, he watched as Lucy wiped away tears. No doubt she was feeling all sorts of emotions. Most of the world didn’t know she had been kidnapped and tortured for weeks, and it was really nobody’s damn business. But here she was, still inspiring people even though most days she felt lost.

“Sting,” Lucy whispered.

“Yes, Babe?” he asked her as he pulled her close to him.

“I don’t know what to feel right now…” she admitted.

He took a steadying breath as she cried softly in his arms. He gently reassured her, “You don’t have to feel anything other than safe right now, but I think you should know that that is probably one of the most badass things I’ve seen.”

“What do you mean?” she asked meekly.

“My girlfriend has inspired people to a point where they want to start naming babies after her,” Sting smiled, “That’s pretty damn awesome.”

“But they don’t know how I almost broke,” she cried, “How until you saved me…I wanted to be dead.”

He gently stroked her back and added, “And they don’t need to know. You are here and you survived. Someday I think you will see how much you really mean to everyone around you and how you can help people with what you’ve been through.”

He noticed that her breathing started to steady before she nodded her head and replied, “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Babe,” he replied just before they gently kissed one another.

Lucy was beyond flustered and happy. It had been so long since she had done anything like this. She even called out Virgo and Loke to help as they prepped the lacrima charter for the meteor shower. She could feel Sting’s eyes on her and she knew she shivered from time to time because his gaze was so incredibly intense, plus she could feel how proud he was of her which made her want to try all the harder to do her best.

* * *

 

It was finally nightfall and Loke and Virgo had just went back to their own realm as Lucy looked up at the big night sky. She couldn’t wait for the meteor shower to begin as she double checked everything to make sure all of the devices were calibrated and working correctly.

Sting hopped up on the balcony next to her and asked in an excited voice, “So when does it begin?!”

“In less than five minutes,” she replied with even more excitement. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this good.

She heard Sting groan in amusement and felt his hands run up her side. He was now behind her and gently placing kisses on her neck to a point where she couldn’t help the moan that escaped from her lips.

She had to bite her lip to keep from turning around and making out with him before she giggled, “Sting, you are distracting me…”

“Sorry,” he smirked with his lips against her neck, “You were just too cute not to kiss. You look so sexy being all scientist-like.”

She giggled before she quickly pecked his cheek as he begrudgingly let her slip from his grasp. But then she got a sweet smile on her face and asked, “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” he grinned at her.

“Yukino packed us some things that will make watching the meteor shower a lot of fun and the couple left us quite a bit of snacks,” she pointed out before she added, “Could you get those things and take it to the top balcony? It’s where we will have the best view of the meteors.”

“Sure!” he replied with renewed energy that made her laugh.

She bit her lip again as she watched him grab the things, tonight was the first night in a long time where she actually felt normal like a normal girl with her boyfriend.

Sting couldn’t take his eyes off of Lucy. He didn’t care that there were thousands of meteors falling above them, because watching her face as she got to watch the stars was incredible.

Suddenly he felt the moisture in his mouth leave when her big brown eyes turned to look at him and she whispered, “Sting.”

“Hm?” he hummed back with a smile.

“Thank you for making this day possible,” she whispered, “I don’t feel afraid tonight.”

“Don’t discredit your own growth,” he pointed out softly, “But I’m glad I can be here for you and that you don’t feel afraid.”

She didn’t feel afraid. Not at all and she wanted to seize the moment before reality came crashing down on her eventually, because she knew it would as she eased him back on the blanket. She had seen enough of the meteor shower for now as she gently straddled him and leaned over to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

No thoughts of Zancrow, Natsu, or anything else was in her mind in that moment as their lips began to move in unison. She loved hearing him groan under her as their kiss became more heated. Their kisses were usually gentle and loving. However, there was none of that tonight as she gently grinded on his manhood between their clothes.

“Oh fuck, Lucy,” Sting grunted huskily, “I want you so bad.”

Her body began to tremble a little before she breathed between kisses, “I want you too.”

Then it happened…like she knew it would. Realization that she was damaged goods entered her mind. She quickly pulled away and tried to catch her breath, because she didn’t want to have a panic attack; not now—not like this. She wanted him—but what if he rejected her because of what that monster did to her? What if he left her for a more experienced girl or someone who wasn’t so fucking broken?

“Lucy,” Sting breathed in a soothing tone, “Deep breaths, Babe, it’s ok.”

She closed her eyes and couldn’t help as tears began to leak out. She did one of her techniques she had been working on and tried to match her breath to Sting’s steadying breath. He knew she was fighting a panic attack and he sat up with her and rubbed her back and elongated his breathing to help soothe her. She really felt like she didn’t deserve him.

After she had calmed down enough, he asked her, “Do you want to talk about what trigged you?”

She felt shame. She was afraid if she spoke the words out loud then Sting might believe them or confirm them. He didn’t deserve this. He had done nothing to warrant her mistrust.

Finally she opened her eyes and looked up at the meteor showing that was still going before she turned to see his worried beautiful blue eyes. He gave her a faint smile and continued to rub her back before she whispered, “I’m afraid.”

He let her take a deep breath before he asked, “Of what?”

She couldn’t look at him when she replied, “That you will see me as damaged when we make love; that I won’t be good enough because I’m not sure what to do; that a murdering psychopath violated me; or that you find someone prettier who can satisfy you the way I can’t right now.”

She felt her heart sink when he pleaded, “Lucy, please look at me.”

She begrudgingly looked at the Master of the now strongest guild in Fiore before he continued, “You are not damaged goods; you are not to blame for what another did to you against your will; no woman will ever be good enough for me except you. Do you want to know why?”

She felt her cheeks redden before she shook her head no and he added, “Because she’s not you.”

“I feel like there is this doubt though in the back of my mind,” she began to cry, “That’ll you’ll leave one day because I slipped up and let the darkness back in. I’m afraid I’ll lose my light…”

He pulled her tightly to his chest and began to soothe her. She felt awful for ruining their perfect moment and then her heart stopped when he eased away and looked at her with a devilish grin and asked, “Well then, Lucy Heartfilia, will you marry me?”

* * *

 

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